Melissa Hefferlin Studio

Melissa Hefferlin Studio An American painter, born in the 60's, Russian and American trained in Realism. Hefferlin divides her time between Andalusia, Spain and the USA.

Sometimes the least "impressive" paintings are the most meaningful. For me, some of the most meaningful are the little f...
06/18/2026

Sometimes the least "impressive" paintings are the most meaningful. For me, some of the most meaningful are the little fast things done from life.

I was once a horseback rider, primarily trail riding, and my most frequent companion was my sister Heidi. Our rides in the mountains of Tennessee and Georgia were among the happiest days of those years. Here, after we ate our sack lunches out of the saddlebags, Heidi laid in the grass for a contented snooze. I sketched out this document of the moment in less than half an hour.

It's not a perfect painting, and it's small (approximately 4 × 5 inches.) But it means the world to me, and it hangs in my bedroom.

06/16/2026

Something wasn't working in this one.

The upper right corner was too passive . I could tell the composition needed something there, I just didn't know what yet. Moving the rabbit helped. But then I thought of a piece of cream Florentine paper I had nearby, and when I added it in, the whole thing suddenly felt alive.

It's one of those small decisions that changes everything. This painting is still in progress, but it's heading somewhere much more interesting now.

Have you ever made one small change that completely shifted something you were working on?

06/14/2026

Fabrics gathered from distant places loved for their color, the way they hold or shed light, and the ancient imagery woven into them.

When they come into the studio and into a painting, something shifts. They do part of the work before I even begin. They arrive already carrying meaning.

Here are a few paintings built around cloth that traveled a long way to get here.

Which one speaks to you?

We built a painting studio in Spain around a patio and around this lemon tree.I had always been drawn to lemons. Their c...
06/11/2026

We built a painting studio in Spain around a patio and around this lemon tree.

I had always been drawn to lemons. Their color, their weight, the way they seem to hold sunlight rather than reflect it. But having a living tree just steps from the door was something different. Suddenly I had my own harvest. I could choose the most beautiful one, carry it inside, set it in the light.

The smell of it on my hands while I painted.

That tree worked its way into painting after painting. A few of them are here. I'd love to know which one speaks to you, or whether you have a place like that: somewhere that changed what you made or how you saw.

06/09/2026

I love squeezing out paint every day. The color and texture bring out a sensory pleasure, and at this stage in my life, I feel fortunate to work with beautiful pigments.

Putting out paint is also a transition ritual. Obligatory, but also an emotional bridge between my normal human life and my professional, creative one.

06/07/2026

You’ll see in some of the close-ups that the darker passages are going foggy as they dry. When I am finally able to varnish, those darks will spring back to life.

Oracle is the second painting in my Silk Road Series. A series allows an artist to fully explore an idea from many angle...
06/04/2026

Oracle is the second painting in my Silk Road Series. A series allows an artist to fully explore an idea from many angles, through different emotional points of view, and with increasing depth.

I loved working with Cassandra Anderson on this painting. She lent her thoughtful, grounded soul to the sitting and was completely at home in my nest of ornamental textiles. I placed her there, and she belonged.

I cannot wait to begin the next painting in the Silk Road Series.

Oracle of the Silk Road, oil on linen, 60 x 40 inches, 2026.

06/02/2026

Why many of my paintings contain black feathers. Why many of my paintings contain black feathers.

They hold beauty and goodness and sadness in the same package. Their iridescence, their arches, their shapes are visually satisfying to me, but their blackness also honors the presence of sorrow.

They work for me emotionally because I find them true.

I often use ribbons in my work. They signify occasion to me — the wrapping of gifts, the ornamenting of hair for a party...
05/31/2026

I often use ribbons in my work. They signify occasion to me — the wrapping of gifts, the ornamenting of hair for a party or a special day.

They are also powerful abstract tools: dividing the canvas, injecting color where it's needed. The texture is alluring, and as a ribbon twists, it catches light in different ways.

"Red Ribbon Day," oil on linen, 29 x 24 inches, 2024, Private Collection

"Where is she?" I am occasionally asked about this painting. She is in a ski lift.At least 16 years ago, my cousin and I...
05/28/2026

"Where is she?" I am occasionally asked about this painting. She is in a ski lift.

At least 16 years ago, my cousin and I rode lifts up into the Swiss Alps in autumn. As we ascended, a thick fog enveloped us. There was complete silence. Nothing existed except thoughts and breathing. Being in a ski lift in an ocean of white. The sound of the cables in the distance. For me that experience was inexplicably nourishing.
I thought it should be shared, and to do so, I engaged the wonderful violinist Sheri Peck to work with me on the project.

From Switzerland, and that day, I still have the souvenir still in my office: one perfect chestnut. ""One Perfect Chestnut,"" Oil on Linen, 48 x 60 in, Private Collection, Tennessee."

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25 King Street
Saint Augustine, FL
32084

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