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Melissa Korner 🎨

@earthtoeasel

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Painting the worlds in my head 🌙
Self-taught artist • original paintings 🎨
Nature, emotion + cosmos | PNW📍
Pocket art on repurposed trading cards ♻️

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quiet grace 🌸
acrylic on 16x20” canvas • 2026

✨ prints are officially available in my Etsy shop! Link in bio ✨

this piece started as my interpretation of what forgiveness looks and feels like, but ended up being about kindness too.

the wolf represents someone who wasn’t who they portrayed themselves to be. the little mouse isn’t powerful, yet it’s the one brave enough to offer a flower instead of fear.

to me, forgiveness has never been about excusing what happened. it’s about choosing not to carry the weight forever.

kindness doesn’t always mean reconciliation. sometimes it’s simply choosing not to let bitterness have the final word. one small act of kindness can create a ripple you’ll never get to see. it may not change the world, but it could change someone else’s world.

i hope this piece leaves room for everyone to find their own meaning in it. 🤍

▶️ swipe to see the progress and details of this one 👀

#symbolicart
#surrealart
#acrylicpainting
#selftaughtartist
#artistsoninstagram by @earthtoeasel

guided 🌊
acrylic on 11x14” canvas • 2026

✨ prints are officially available in my Etsy shop! Link in bio. ✨

this painting wasn’t supposed to become this. it started as a study: a chance to experiment with a new color palette, practice color theory, and try a different way of painting clouds. (turns out… i’ll be sticking with my usual clouds. 😅)

the more i painted, the further it drifted from the original reference until i wasn’t using one at all.

near the end, i was trying to figure out what belonged beneath the surface when my son looked at it and said, “it reminds me of Jesus.” that was the moment everything clicked. the turtle became a symbol of being guided toward the light.

whatever that light means to you, i hope this piece reminds you it’s worth moving toward.

▶️ swipe to see more details, plus the moments i almost scrapped this painting entirely. 👀

🤍 @earthtoeasel

#acrylicpainting
#oceanart
#seaturtleart
#artistsoninstagram
#originalart by @earthtoeasel

weight of worlds 🌎
acrylic on 16x20” canvas • 2026

✨ prints are officially available in my Etsy shop. Link in bio ✨

this painting started with an old sketch from 2022 that i found while going through some of my artwork. Fast forward 4 years later, it is now my latest acrylic painting.

something about the idea stuck with me. carrying a lot. trying to keep everything from falling apart. finding balance in the middle of all the chaos.

▶️ swipe to see more details 👀

#surrealart
#acrylicpainting
#fantasyart
#artistsoninstagram
#artreel by @earthtoeasel

apparently i talk on here now 🤷‍♀️

you’ve seen my face, you’ve seen my paintings, but somehow i’ve managed to avoid actually talking to the camera until now. 😂 why is talking to a camera so much more awkward than talking to an actual human? either way, i fully embrace the cringe.

i’ve met some really cool people through sharing my art, and i’m looking forward to meeting more. so whether you’ve been here for a while or just found me, come say hi. 🤍

kovu wants to be involved in every step of the painting process, but apparently not the introductions. you’re either on the team or you’re not, kovu.

#pnwartist
#acrylicartist
#wildlifeartist
#artcommunity
#meettheartist by @earthtoeasel

another opportunity to share my art with the world. 🥹🤍

i’m so excited to be participating in @rentonartoasis’s 2nd Annual Small Works & Silent Bids!

a huge thank you to Renton Art Oasis for continuing to create opportunities for local artists to share their work. 🎨✨

november 14th | 5–9 pm
📍 Luther’s Table, Renton

open to the public! hope to see some of you there! 🫶

more info & RSVP at rentonartoasis.com ✨

#rentonartoasis
#rentonwa
#seattleartists
#pnwartists
#artexhibition by @earthtoeasel

fake it till you make it, right? let’s figure this one out together.

paint session part 2 🐝✨
1 hour of painting. 20 seconds of footage.

#paintingprocess
#acrylicpainting
#artistlife
#artistreels
#spaceart by @earthtoeasel

wanna see where this goes? 👀🐝

tonight’s 2-hour paint session squeezed into 25 seconds, with plenty more to come! everyone’s invited to follow along. 🤍

trying something new and bringing you along for the process in real time, one paint session at a time. no finished masterpiece just yet, but that’s part of the fun!

—

to my paintober friends: 😅

yes, i’m behind. i’ve been painting those tiny cards all month for you all, but today i needed to paint something for me. life has been heavy this month.

paintober might be creeping into november this year, and that’s okay. if anything, it’s a humble reminder that i’m human. thanks for sticking around and for all the love. 🫶

#paintingprocess
#acrylicpainting
#workinprogress
#spaceart
#galaxyart by @earthtoeasel

reflections 🦓✨
acrylic on 16x20” canvas • 2026

✨ prints are officially available in my Etsy shop! Link in bio ✨

i created this piece around the idea of self-reflection and seeing the beauty within ourselves.

i also included one of my original concept sketches because i love sharing a little bit of the creative process behind my paintings.

we can be our own worst critics, so focused on our flaws that we forget to recognize the entire universe we carry inside of us.

a little reminder to be kinder to ourselves. 🖤

▶️ swipe to see the little details 👀

#symbolicart
#surrealart
#selfreflection
#innerbeauty
#acrylicpainting by @earthtoeasel

resilience 🤍
acrylic on 11x14” canvas • 2026

✨ prints are officially available in my etsy shop! link in bio✨

i had an idea, started painting it, and realized it just wasn’t working. but i loved the sky too much to give up on the whole canvas, so i kept what i loved and changed direction.

the ocean became a forest, and this little hedgehog found himself making his way through a mess of blackberry vines and thorns for the berries on the other side.

that’s where the meaning of this piece really came together for me. resilience doesn’t always mean pushing forward without struggle. sometimes the path is messy, sometimes you have to change direction, and sometimes what you’re reaching for requires navigating a few thorns along the way. 🤍

this painting ended up teaching me a little bit of its own lesson in resilience while i was making it. 😅

▶️ swipe through for some of my favorite details and to see where it started 👀

#symbolicart
#wildlifeart
#acrylicpainting
#natureinspiredart
#artistsoninstagram by @earthtoeasel

intertwined 🌱
acrylic on 24x36” canvas • 2026

this started as a little digital drawing back in 2024. two years later, i transferred it to canvas using a 216 square grid and watched it change quite a bit along the way.

at its heart, intertwined explores the relationship between humans and nature. as our communities have grown, so much of the natural world has been pushed aside and forced to adapt around what we’ve built. i wanted to imagine nature reclaiming its place within that community, not by destroying what we’ve created, but by growing alongside it.

but that idea of coexistence goes beyond nature. we’re all different, with different experiences and ways of seeing the world, and we can still make room for one another. neither one has to disappear for the other to belong. 🤍

and, of course, kovu supervised the process, although he seemed personally offended that i was putting this much effort into painting a squirrel when there was a perfectly good cat available. 😂

▶️ swipe to see details and the story of how my little digital doodle became one of my favorite paintings 👀

p.s. the original 2024 digital drawing is mine too. no ai artwork over here. 🚫💯

#symbolicart
#wildlifeart
#acrylicpainting
#seattleartist
#pnwart by @earthtoeasel

infinite ♾️
uv reactive acrylic on 10x20” canvas • 2026

if you caught yesterday’s reel, here’s a chance to slow down and take a closer look at the finished piece.

this painting began in 2023. life happened, it got set aside, and it sat unfinished for three years.

finishing this painting reminded me why i was drawn to the idea: i don’t believe love ends where life does. i believe love is infinite.

maybe that’s why the black light felt right. it’s the same painting… just seen differently. after all, we won’t all see this piece the same way, and i like that. i hope there’s something in it that stays with you.

▶️ swipe through to see where it all began and where it ended up 👀

🤍 @earthtoeasel

#acrylicpainting
#originalart
#blacklightart
#spaceart
#artistsoninstagram by @earthtoeasel

got 60 seconds? 👀
just a little artist rambling and life check-in. forgive me, i’m still getting used to talking to a camera. 😅

no script, nothing fancy, just popping in to say hi and share a little bit of what’s going on behind the scenes.

thanks for being here and following along on this little creative journey of mine. im grateful for all of you! 🫶

#artistlife #artistdiary #selftaughtartist #artcommunity #pnwartist by @earthtoeasel