Talk About Art

A column by Carolyn Henderson

It's a long road from working for a contractor making parts for nuclear submarines to painting peaceful landscapes, but acrylic painter Becky Melcher is used winding paths. Nowadays, she especially enjoys painting them.

For more than 40 years, the Yakima artist worked in the legal field – from that submarine contractor to attorneys' offices – and painted on the side. Upon retirement, she plunged into the art world, experimenting with techniques, media, and subject matter, focusing on work that exudes an incredible sense of peace and tranquility.

"My true desire is to master landscapes," Melcher says.

"They draw you into a story that the artist is telling – you can live in a landscape painting!

"They exude the life experience and the extraordinary world around us."

Melcher has found regular success with showing her work in local restaurants where patrons, literally, buy them off the walls. Working from what she describes as a tiny art studio located in a tiny office in her home, Melcher creates work that is part reality, part fantasy: country cottages nestled within bushes and trees; a lone sailboat resting serenely on quiet waters; a shyly peeking deer, ready to bolt.

"It's all about light, values, and skies," Melcher says. "My favorite landscapes are those where the sky dominates."

Through April 6, Wenaha Gallery is featuring Melcher's work at the gallery. The gallery, located at 219 E. Main, Dayton, is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.