We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melinda Brown. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with melinda below.

Melinda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Apprenticeship into the higher levels of commercial photography is still a valid way to learn the craft of advertising photography by working as a freelance assistant or Studio Manager or both, as for ceramics – throw a thousand pots throw away 999.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was told in kindergarten that I would be an artist by my teacher. So here I am.
61 years later. Still exploring.
I suppose you would like to know about my journey. I began in graphic design with a BS, however, there were years spent studying anthropology, interior design, life studies and oh yes…… that photography thing. When I moved to Boston I worked in the printing trade developing color sensitivity by approving color corrections for separation used in color press production. But photography was still in my heart, so I attended New England School of Photography and secured a position with Lou Goodman a product commercial photographer with national clients and a generous spirt toward my development. I was his first assistant/ studio manager. He was instrumental in the development of compositional knowledge and well as technical ability in light manipulation and attention to detail.
I married and had children refusing to use the early digital cameras as they were frankly terrible.
In 2013 I purchased my first digital camera and began to combine my light knowledge with my love of horses. That work led to many clients and regional and national attention. I would guess my proudest contribution was using the cameras limitations to set the light range in an image. This technic caught on and became the requested technique for many equine photographers. The black background.
By using the abilities of early photoshop to digitally smear the pixels into brush strokes I was creating photographic digital paintings. An early contribution to the genera.. But I was unable to enter many art exhibits as some said it was photography and some that it wasn’t. Some said it wasn’t a painting so go find a photography exhibit. Being a disrupter sometimes has to be its own reward.
The advent of AI can be said to be a tool as well but that will be for the creatives of the future.
I was searching for a fresh creative outlet. I began to explore watercolor, colored pencil, and combinations of those tools.
Joining the Virginia Beach Art Center and participating in many small regional shows. Then I took a ceramics class and the immediate hands on plasticity of the clay was an exciting find. That was my new direction.
I have traveled to Italy in the last two years with working weeks with Luca Landri and this year will attend the international school of ceramics in Castillo Italy in April. A new branch of the artist tree.
My ceramics focus on the wheel with functional but altered forms, as well as glaze painting on plates. My philosophy- the journey should never end for an artist.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Changing from an immediate media of photography where timing is still fundamental and fast to a media that requires not less feel but some quiet tactile knowledge. Has been a learning experience. I have always been a let’s get this done focused person- if you have an agenda like that with clay the clay will tell you how that just won’t work. Learning to be quiet and restful has been a good lesson

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Connection connection connection of honest interest in every client, in my business of photographing equine subjects it is the personal connection and the word of mouth that drives the clients. The client will not hand you their beloved horse unless you are a horsewoman/man. Every opportunity to connect on an equine level is important.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.behance.net/MelindaBrownArts
• Instagram: melindabrownphotography, ava_themudpup
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelindaBrownPhotography

Image Credits

1st image- Doc’s Degree- portrait for the owner

2nd submit-
Hidden Hero- VBHSA 250th anniversary poster
Candy Man- cover VBHSA Cooler show prize list
Magee and Sarah – commisioned
Pelican- watercolor and graphite
Sandbridge- IM photography
Ceramics – Day at the Brazos- Texas
La Fratta House – Italy
glaze painting on thrown plate