ABOUT

Her expressive work captures the organic beauty of the natural world through vibrant color palettes, rich textures, and elegant detail.

Based at the Lancaster Art Vault in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Melissa maintains a working studio and gallery where she creates original paintings and custom commissions. Her art blends fine art techniques with intuitive mark-making and a deep appreciation for nature.

Melissa’s work is sought after by art collectors, interior designers, and individuals looking for one-of-a-kind botanical artwork that brings warmth and sophistication to residential and commercial spaces.

A native of Lancaster County, PA, Melissa holds an MFA from the Academy of Art University in California and a BFA from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Though she began her artistic journey as a child doodling on everything in sight, she began selling her work professionally in 2017 and founded Melissa S Zane Studios LLC in 2021.

Melissa paints primarily in acrylic, often incorporating metallic finishes that reflect light and create dynamic viewing experiences. Her signature style fuses earth tones, organic shapes, and layered patterned textures to evoke the vitality and movement of the natural world.

Her studio is open by appointment to visitors and collectors interested in original botanical art, custom floral commissions, or mural projects.

Design in nature is where I draw my inspiration. From the vibrant color of a flower to the underlying texture when viewed as black and white, from how the sunlight dances on the tip of a petal to the playful shadows formed from an eclipse of the stamen, from the bending and twisting of branches to the burls of an old tree trunk, from the curl of a leaf to the natural patterns a plant creates as it grows, there is magic and beauty beyond the obvious. I take pictures whenever possible and use lots of reference photography. My art is not realistic; it is a compilation of reality combined with artistic license. Each piece takes on a life of its own from inception to unanticipated outcomes.

My large-scale acrylic on canvas paintings are my organic interpretations of natural beauty. The viewer is taken on a fascinating journey beyond the obvious to explore the design elements that make up their larger wholes through the exploration of color, texture, and light. My work typically combines patterns, earth tones, splashes of color on dark backgrounds, and metallic paint to illuminate various design details from different viewing angles.

I begin with a base coat of acrylic paint to define space; then, I start layering paint, experimenting with shape and color. Bright colors get added first, then shadows and highlights, and fine details come last. Once I have decided a painting is complete, I sign my initials.