About The Artist

Having embraced a figurative style for many years, post Covid Melanie has been experimenting with colour and semi-abstraction, moving towards a more suggestive approach, painting the feelings invoked by her surroundings. Walking and sketching in the landscape to soak up the atmosphere and observe the changing light, before returning to the Studio to capture the essence of the experience in paint.

Working mainly in oils, she is available for commissioned work, but specializes in landscapes and coastal views of locations personal to her clients rather than portrait work.

Art Tutoring

As a tutor, Melanie is a regular visitor to Art Groups around the South East giving demonstrations, running workshops and hosting painting holidays for individuals. She has written four art instruction books for Collins. Melanie developed her own range of artist brushes. Details of courses can be found by visiting her website: melaniecambridge-fine-art.co.uk where you can visit her online shop.

Art Courses & Painting Breaks 2023

Learn to paint with Oils, St Catherine’s Hall, Chestnut Ave, Guildford, GU2 4HF

I run a several 6-week structured art classes for groups of 6 artists during both the spring and autumn terms. Classes run on Monday afternoons and Tuesday mornings.

Success with Oils at Dedham Hall, Suffolk - 8th - 13th May

Join me at the wonderful 15th Century Dedham Hall in Constable Country. Enjoy plenty of demonstrations, structured learning within the studio as well as time to sit and paint either within the grounds or out on location around the picturesque Dedham Vale.

Summer School Art Courses for adults at Marlborough College, Wiltshire.

Oils, Find your Creative Voice - 17th - 22nd July

Floral Inspirations in Oils - 24th - 29th July

Oils Fast & Loose - 31st July - 5th August

Residential 5-day courses including all materials run during the annual Summer School at Marlborough. You can download individual course details from my website.Full details for all classes are on my website.

Success with Oils at Dedham Hall, Suffolk

Art Group Demonstrations & Workshops

I can be booked to deliver various demonstrations and workshops. All are available on-line or in person. Here is a selection of what I can offer. However, do please contact me to discuss your ideas and if I can create a bespoke event for your society, I will.

Big Skies over the North Downs - Oils: Let me show you hove to capture skies and clouds on a big scale. Working fast and loose to create a lively painting and incorporating impasto medium for the foreground downland.

Seascapes - Oils: I love painting seascapes and beaches. Working from sketches and photographs to create an atmospheric beach scene under a large open sky, incorporating figures or boats to give a sense of scale and interest.

How to Paint Horses - Gouache, Oils or Oil Pastels: I painted horses as a child, not being very good at riding them! In this demonstration I show how to get the proportions right for both a head and whole horse before moving on to paint a horse head portrait or a whole one in a simple landscape during the second half of the demonstration.

Interpreting Photographs - Gouache, Oils, Mixed Media or Oil Pastels: Many of us paint from photographs. During this demonstration I show you how to use several images to create a planning sketch. Using this sketch with the supporting images to then create a finished painting. If you wish, I am happy to use photographs supplied by the group, unseen by me in advance.

Use those Sketches! - Gouache, Oils, Mixed Media: Taking ideas from my sketchbook, sometimes combining more than one, to paint a landscape, woodland view, river scene, boats in the estuary, or indeed anything else from my sketchbook.

For all enquiries about demonstrations or workshops, please email me or call me (contact details above).

Comments from Art Groups about my On-line Demonstrations

Peterborough Art Society
"Last nights demo was absolutely marvelous. I have had lots of feedback from members to the same effect. It has inspired quite a few of us. I also have had messages from some who could not attend the live meeting and they are pleased that a video will be coming out for them to view. A couple of them had already heard how good it was. How great is that? Thank you once again."

Charnwood Drawing & Painting Club
"Thank you so much for the fine demonstration you gave last evening. We all loved it, and I am sure the demo and the video will convince many of our ardent watercolourists to try oils in the future. In the meantime it was a 'win-win' for all of us."

Downland Art Society, Sussex
"Thank you so much for yesterday it was great and all the feedback received was very encouraging, people love to have their demos at home as they are stuck at home some even professed to prefer it!"

Harpenden Art Club
"Thank you so much for the excellent demonstration you gave for HAC. I think you could tell, from the silence, that everybody was totally absorbed in watching and learning new techniques! It was interesting to see the way you used gouache, the artist's putty and the oil pastels, and to hear your commentary on how you were achieving the effects you wanted."