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Melinda R. Smith

@melindarsmith

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“What the Fvck Was That?” Oil on hand-cut paper, 34x39” 2026

This one gave me some trouble. I only started with the two figures, and I had to discover what the story was as I went along. I’ve said it before, I’ve probably said it repeatedly, but this Saturday practice is an ever-recurring lesson in trusting the process. Which is not to say that I actually do, in the moment, trust the process because I can’t say I’m ever terribly optimistic that the painting will come out all right. But what I do always manage to do (and this is definitely trusting the process) is work through the discomfort of not succeeding, until I finally see that I’ve pulled the thing together enough that it won’t be an abject failure anyway, and then the fun begins. The fun part (details) doesn’t last for very long, since most of the day is spent struggling and fighting my way out of the despair of moment-to-moment failure.
#allaprima by @melindarsmith

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5 days ago

“‘Oh Shit, Is That Your Crush?’”, oil on hand-cut paper, 25.5x32” #allaprima by @melindarsmith

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12 days ago

“‘I Don’t Know, Maybe I *Should* Go to College,’”
oil on hand-cut paper, 31x37”
#allaprima
Yesterday’s alla prima. by @melindarsmith

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19 days ago

I posted this painting yesterday, but I discovered a mistake afterwards. It matters only to me, of course, but it does matter. The cross bars on the window were the last thing I did. The mistake was to do them over the window shade, which made it appear as though the sky in the distance had light in it (grey), when in fact I wanted the night to be very dark, and the grey really is meant to be a window shade. I clearly wasn’t paying attention when I painted that last detail. The important thing here is the infinitely dark night. :) by @melindarsmith

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25 days ago

“Grounded,” oil on hand-cut paper, 35x38”
#allaprima

It would be impossible to overstate how much I love this Saturday practice. I love the act of it—a Saturday essentially spent dancing with painting—and I love the indulgence in my love of storytelling, which I’ve been doing since I was a very young child, and which I hold in check when I work on canvas (for some reason).

There’s a mistake I just saw as I looked at the painting in my studio. Ah well. Only I would notice or care. Still, I’ll have to post the corrected version at some point. by @melindarsmith

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a month ago

Untitled, oil on hand-cut paper, 30x35”

Another Saturday come and gone. I decided not to title this one, because I suppose it’s pretty obvious what these girls are doing, and I moreover didn’t think it was right to give away *exactly* what it is they’re up to (not that I know). My idea when I started this one was simply “beginner witches,” but it became what it wanted to become, and who can say now whether they’re beginners anymore or not. #allaprima #witches by @melindarsmith

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a month ago

Posting this one more time because the first time it wasn’t quite finished. by @melindarsmith

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a month ago

A detail from yesterday’s alla prima. I posted the painting earlier today, but I had to fix something I’d overlooked yesterday. I can’t let it just be; it bugged me. The crooked garage door wasn’t finished. I’d been too focused on other details. Thanks @kathryn_poremski! by @melindarsmith

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a month ago

Untitled, oil on hand-cut paper, 38x40”
#allaprima by @melindarsmith

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a month ago

I’ve become hesitant to post my canvas work here on Insta. They take so long and are so quiet compared to my paper pieces, and I now think they’re ill-suited to the “social” medium. Insta, in the time before, in its original form, was wonderful. It’s how I came to “know” so many amazing artists around the world. It would be impossible to count the ways in which it was subsequently ruined by new ownership, but one of those ways is its insistence on loudness and flash (a favorable algorithm if you add music? How ridiculous is that?). I didn’t mean for this to be a rant. It’s useless to rant at a behemoth. All I wanted to say was I believe this painting is too quiet for the platform. But here she is anyway, perfectly positioned to accurately respond to her reception. :)

“Your Lady of Disappointment,” oil on canvas, 30x40” 2026
#disappointment #oiloncanvas #portaiture by @melindarsmith

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a month ago

“Wait a Minute, Those Assholes Are Laughing *At* Me,” oil on hand-cut paper, 26x32”
#allaprima
Saturday’s quick one. I wanted to catch the moment of recognition. by @melindarsmith

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2 months ago

“Oh and One More Thing? Go Fvck Yourself”, oil on hand-cut paper, 33x37”

I love my Saturday practice so much that I wait all week for Saturday to come. And then it does, and then it goes insanely fast—the day sheds hours like minutes shed seconds. And now I have another whole week to wait…. Guess I’ll go cut more paper. #allaprima #attheedgeoftheyard by @melindarsmith

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2 months ago