Born in Colombo ,Sri Lanka, Melanie is now based in Melbourne.
Her interest in art began at an early age and she maintained her love of painting while pursuing her tertiary studies. She is mainly self-taught, and the classes and workshops she has attended over the years have had a profound impact on her work.
She is a studio - based painter and has a love of painting still life, portraits and figurative work.
Initially working in a realistic manner, her work has evolved into a blend of abstraction and representation. Her aim is to capture the essence of the subject, not merely a literal representation.
She works in a spontaneous manner, responding to shape, colour and tone of the subject and use a limited palette to keep the work harmonious.
Her work has been exhibited in group shows and she was a featured artist in the art lounge at Cambridge Studio Gallery in Melbourne. She has also been a finalist in the Portrait prize at Cambridge studio gallery and at Southern Buoy gallery and the Tacit gallery inaugural still life award in 2021