"Hey! My name is Mel T. and I am a contemporary figure painter originally from St. Louis, Missouri. I received my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting and Art History at the Kansas City Art Institute in 2017, and my Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Miami in 2021. I currently live with my partner here in St. Louis, Missouri, and I currently teach as an Adjunct Professor of Art and Art History at St. Louis Community College and St. Charles Community College. I also teach at the St. Louis Artists' Guild in my spare time.

Teaching is my life's passion! I love making connections with artists at any part of their creative journey. Whether you are a newcomer looking to build a new skill or a seasoned artist looking for a push to the next level, I would love to get to know and work with you! I specialize in teaching perceptual drawing and painting, but I also love engaging in conversations about abstraction and non-objectivity in contemporary painting. I also teach printmaking and art history. I am very emotionally invested in the success of my students. I will seek to push you forward in whatever artistic direction you would like to go!

My personal artwork is rooted in the foundational practice of recording perceptual information from observation, specifically figurative drawing and painting from life. I have been featured nationally, including at the H and R Bloch Artspace in Kansas City, Missouri; the Old Courthouse Arts Center in Woodstock, Illinois; the University of Miami Art Gallery in Wynwood; and locally at Framations Gallery, Fontbonne University, the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, and the Angad Arts Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri." less...