Krystii Melaine
Born 1963 in Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia; lives in Colbert, Washington
AT THE AGE OF FOUR, Krystii Melaine announced that she was going to be an artist, winning her first art competition at seven. Following studies in painting, drawing, photography, and graphic design, Melaine established her own fashion design company, developing it into one of the largest bridal-wear companies in Australia.
A desire to return to painting led to five years studying traditional tonal realism, and a thirty-year career as a successful realist painter. Inspired by people and animals, Melaine has focused on the American West, it’s history and diverse cultures. Recently, she has expanded her oeuvre to explore the emotional effects of abstracts, which has in turn informed her realism paintings. With this shift in her awareness, she brings a fresh, modern look to Western and wildlife art.
Melaine regularly participates in major museum exhibitions and has won numerous awards. She has been honored with purchase awards from the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art and the Hockaday Museum of Art, and has three life-size, full-length portraits of Native Americans in the Booth Western Art Museum. Of her creations, Melaine says “I hope my paintings make people feel happy whenever they see them. This is my gift to the world.”
Notable Awards and Achievements
2019 Hockaday Museum of Art, A Timeless Legacy, Van Kirke Nelson Hockaday Purchase Award
2019 Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine Award
2018 Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art, Quest for the West, Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award and Patrons’ Choice Award
2018 Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Cowgirl Up!, People’s Choice Award
2017 Autry Museum of the American West, Masters of the American West, Merit Award
2016 Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Quest for the West, Patron’s Choice Award
2016 American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, Bennington Center for the Arts, Visitors’ Choice Award
2015 Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine Award
2015 Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Quest for the West, Patrons’ Choice Award
2015 American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, Friends of Western Art Award
2014 Portrait Society of America, Members Only Competition, First Merit Award–Commissioned Portrait
2012 Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Cowgirl Up!, First Prize Two-Dimensional on Canvas
2012 Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Cowgirl Up!, Artists’ Choice Award
2011 The Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art, Western Award
2009 Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Cowgirl Up!, First Prize Two-Dimensional
Memberships:
American Women Artists, Master Signature Member
Portrait Society of America, Member
Gallery Representation:
Sanders Galleries, Tucson, Arizona
Trailside Galleries, online
Montana Trails Gallery, Bozeman, Montana
Broadmoor Galleries, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mountain Trails Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jackson, Wyoming, and Park City, Utah
The Marshall Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
Big Horn Galleries, Cody, Wyoming, and Tubac, Arizona
Going to the Sun Gallery, Whitefish, Montana