Ashleith, the professional name of Melissa Ash Brownell, has enjoyed a very successful career as a portrait artist, a figurative and landscape painter, a print maker and a ceramicist. Her work has hung in museums, corporate offices, and embassies. The art is the result of Ashleith’s life history and experiences, or as she expresses it, “destiny”, “I am an intuitive painter, and the work comes from a very deep place emotionally for me. I’ve prepared a long time for it. I do feel the impetus is spiritual. Art to me is a magical, transcendental projection of the spirit.”
Like the old masters, she works in oils with an under painting, then applies many glazes of color. She believes in bringing together her intuition and a rigorous technical process to produce works of passion and vision. The artist obtained her Master’s of Fine Arts degree in Florence, Italy. Prior to studying in Italy, Ashleith’s life story had many interesting chapters. She was raised in northern Virginia and earned a B.A. degree at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Marriage to a professional in the State department took her to various posts in Central and South America, including Argentina, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Mexico, over a period of ten years
In addition to studying portrait and figure painting in Italy, Ashleith trained with Nelson Shanks, one of the finest portrait artists in the United States. Her life then took her to northern California, where she built a successful ceramics business; creating and hand painting ceramics and murals that reflected French and Italian influences. She painted landscapes of the wine country and became an expert print maker. She also refined one aspect of her art that is quite special to her: portraiture. Portraiture is at the heart of all her figurative work. Portrait painting comes from her love of people and she tries to capture each individuals unique qualities.
The versatility of this artist is astonishing and her work can be appreciated on many levels. One can admire the dynamic qualities of her painting, her use of light and dark, and the expressive faces and body language of her figures. One can immerse oneself in the narrative, letting the imagination conjure feelings and outcomes. Or, one can simply enjoy the exquisite visual banquet that a painting by Ashleith offers.
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