BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
JEFF GRANIT staff The spiritual paintings of Melanie McClean are featured in the exhibit “Between Heaven and Earth” at Gallery 31, West Main Street, Freehold Borough, through April 30. Observing artist Melanie McClean’s art collection feels as if you’re right there — in her seascapes, in her scenes of the universe, in her sensual scenes of lovers connecting.
Categorizing her inspirational artwork is difficult because of its wide array of theme and style. Eclectic, with a touch of mystical magic, might describe the body of her work, titled “Between Heaven and Earth,” which is on display this month at Gallery 31, West Main Street in Freehold Borough.
“Transmigration” Using her paint brush as a writer uses a pen, McClean becomes her own storyteller. Her art blends traditional elements with a bit of fantasy, adds a dash of the ethereal, and she calls it her dream.
Deep colors are in rich supply in this 47-year-old artist’s oil paintings. McClean, a native of the rural South, has now come to settle in Freehold Township.
Most of her work depicts the inspirational influence of the divine, which is seen throughout her portrayal of the moon, the sun, the stars, nature and the universe, all wrapped up in an incredible array of emotionally charged storytelling on canvas.
“Moon Rise” McClean started dabbling in art as a child but had only one formal art lesson. Having gone years without picking up a paint brush, she is now in the process of making art her livelihood. She spent a great deal of her adult life traveling with her husband and has only recently been able to put down roots.
Now divorced, McClean has decided to put down her roots in Freehold Township and her life and her work have begun to taken on a shape as she always dreamed it would.
“The First Night” Her artwork is her calling, the expression of what she calls “the sum of all her parts.”
But she brings more than just her imagination to her canvas. McClean is also a psychic counselor and a Reiki master, and she has brought her experience and her ability to connect her own spirit with others to her easel, and it shows. Her artwork portrays in vibrant detail and amazing light and color a peaceful solace as one views it.
One painting in the collection, “Soul’s Release,” features a celestial being in the center of a pastel painted canvas. This depicts McClean’s interpretation of the freedom that is experienced when the soul relinquishes all ties to things that keep it “earthbound,” according to the artist. She said she painted this piece soon after her divorce.
“The First Day” Observe the inspirational display of the creation of the universe, “The First Day,” which glows with beaming light shining over a beautiful ocean. Also in her collection is its companion piece “The First Night,” with its rushing ocean waves depicting the awe-inspiring power of the divine in nature.
A piece called “Transmigra-tion” portrays the earth in the upper left corner of the painting. The familiar globe is looking down on rushing deep blue seas. In the center of the painting is a narrow white spray that appears to be shooting toward the earth. This painting is McClean’s portrayal of souls moving from one place to another on their journey toward home.
For those who lean toward the mysticism of romance, McClean has crafted evocative and sensual muted shaded lovers.
One piece combines the romance of love with the mysticism that make McClean’s work unique. According to the artist, “Between Heaven and Earth” shows two lovers “caught between heaven and earth in a reuniting embrace. They are traveling through the archway between worlds. Their bodies have been left behind, and for an instant they are reunited in the truth of their combined light.”
The artist has also portrayed actress Marilyn Monroe on canvas in “Marilyn.” McClean said she painted the late movie star as
the world saw her — “not the true Marilyn, but an abstraction of who she was. She smiles, but behind her is a dark image, the shadow self of loneliness and despair. A circle surrounds her, depicting the way the world revolved around her.”
McClean’s inspiring artwork brings the viewer through a roller coaster of emotions as he or she moves from one piece to the next in this 28-painting collection, which will remain on display at the gallery until April 30.
McClean said her work reflects the rich heritage and love for nature that she considers her legacy from her Welsh and Native American grandparents.
She said her initial desire to paint came at about the age of 6 when she experienced her first psychic connection with “the other side.”
She picked up her paint brush to express those visions, only to lay it down again, suppressing those feelings and visions for many years. As an adult, she brings back those feelings and abilities to connect to her art. McClean will share her psychic abilities and give free readings at the gallery on April 30 from 4-5 p.m.
Many of her works are also influenced by what she said are “subtle hidden treasures” of information such as celestial beings and moral lessons to provoke the viewer’s imagination and connection with themselves.
The artist said she does not usually start out with a particular intent when she paints. She normally begins with color on her canvas. The inspiration then flows into her work and that painting begins to evolve on its own. She said she always has to “trust whatever comes to her.”
She is hoping her work will move those who see it to identify with their own version of the divine or whomever they see as their higher power or their creator.
McClean said her creativity fulfills her and keeps her going.
“Seeing a finished product gives me life,” she said.
The artist said she hopes her work will “touch” people so that she will know that her work matters. She said that anything you create shows the world who you are.
McClean’s creativity shows the world who she is with her art. In essence, her canvas reveals her soul.
Gallery 31 may be reached at (732) 761-8800.