Melanie grew up in the Lincolnshire fens, spending time in Italy before studying Florentine Renaissance Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London (BA and MA) followed by Fine Art, Painting at the School of Art, University of Gloucestershire (MA). After a series of residencies and teaching posts, she relocated from London to Cambridgeshire and now works from her studio in Ely. Melanie has exhibited in group and solo shows across the UK including at the Florence Trust, London; Jerwood Space, London; Bridgeman Gallery, London; Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London; Josie Eastwood Fine Art, Winchester; Stratford Gallery, Stratford upon Avon; Cornwall Contemporary, Penzance. Her work is held in corporate and private collections in the UK and overseas; has featured in numerous publications; and has been selected for juried exhibitions including, most recently, the ING Discerning Eye (2020); and the John Moores Painting Prize (2020). ‘In the early morning I walk between the railway line and the river. Small seasonal shifts, incidental things we might rush past usually, become more noticeable walking the same paths like a ritual. I look at what is permanent and fixed, and what is transient and temporary, and conclude that everything is changing, even in this moment. What I photograph and paint is not there now and the painting becomes like a ghost, a trace of a memory of something that inevitably will never be exactly the same again. Working from projections of photographs I’ve taken, I trace the lines loosely with a fine square ended brush, and the marks build up the complicated patterns of the whole. Using traditional materials and composition, my work gives these fleeting moments status and draws attention to their value.’ - Melanie Goemans, 2020