Melissa studied fine art and graphic design at the University of Georgia and earned her BFA in 1987. She also completed some graduate work in Cortona Italy, studying calligraphy and art history.

After graduating from college Melissa worked as a graphic designer, using her talents to help companies create visual identities and thereby strong memorable visual resonance in the minds of their customers. In 1993 she founded Bravo Graphic Design.

Melissa's gift of expressing the sublime and subtleties of human emotion follows a long tradition of artists in her family. Her mother was an avid artist favoring pen and inks and her grandparents were painters. She was surrounded by visual expression at a very young age and has found her voice as an artist in expressing movement and depth through the skilled juxtaposition of color and texture.

She continues to paint and explores different mediums, ranging from airbrush with watercolor pencils, oil pastels, acrylics, oils and mixed media. Her current body of work was created with a mixture of cold wax and oil or acrylic paint.

Melissa's studio is based in Santa Barbara, California, where she lives and works.