Melwell

Thank you so much! oxo Good morning to you!

Close-up of an open handmade art book resting on a wooden table. The visible page is covered in bright blue felt with a layered teal felt pocket stitched in dark thread. The pocket is decorated with blue-and-white lace trim, a round black-and-gold Stetson emblem, and dark green feathers tucked behind it. Other stitched fabric panels in light blue and turquoise appear on either side.

Another page from my little book "Tinkersmith." The decorative ribbon came from Paramount Studio costume vault, and the Stetson label was found on the floor of the Sagebrush after a gig.

Open handmade fabric book resting on a wooden table. The black cloth cover and turquoise felt pages are visible, with layered stitched elements and small dangling metal charms along the bottom edge. A brightly colored embroidered fabric strip with floral and sunburst imagery lies diagonally across the open pages. One page features a stitched collage with a black-and-white portrait and paper fragments; another shows a small white cloth pouch with beads sewn onto a teal felt background. The piece combines textiles, stitching, metal, and found materials in a richly textured assemblage.

Part of a larger object.

Stitched. Salvaged. Sealed.

Letting it rest before it travels.

#ArtistBook #Assemblage #SlowCraft #Tinkersmith #StudioLife

Folk-art style painting of five solemn figures gathered around a wooden desk in an interior office scene. A bearded man in a black suit sits at the center behind the desk with a blank sheet of paper, while a priest wearing a cross stands beside him. Another man sits holding newspapers, a man in a dark jacket stands with one hand on the desk, and a woman in a deep blue shawl stands at the side. A small nameplate on the desk reads “El Jefe.” Through the window behind them, adobe-style buildings and brown hills appear under a blue sky. The artist’s signature, “Melwell,” is visible in the lower right corner.

"The Boss," oil on panel by Melwell, 8x10 – Call Parsons Gallery of the West at +1-575-737-9200.

Yes! And Grant Wood.

Thank you! I appreciate your words!

RECOMBINATE I’ve been taking a deliberate pause from large canvases and working instead in object form. This new assemblage book, titled RECOMBINATE, grew out of that space. To recombinate means to recombine –…

"The work is not a fixed image. It is an action. Each page layers salvaged photographs, thread, fragments of paper, small relics, and paint into an open-ended structure. The narrative isn’t prescribed. It emerges through proximity and attention."
melwellromancitofineart.com/2026/02/reco...

Colorful, stylized landscape painting of rolling hills and terraced fields beneath a bright blue sky with white clouds. Rounded trees in vivid orange and red dominate the foreground and midground, outlined in dark lines. A white adobe-style building sits on a hilltop behind a curved fence, with patchwork fields and scattered white shapes below. The artist’s signature “Melwell” appears in red in the lower right corner.

"Near Hondo," oil on panel by Melwell, 20x16 – Call Parsons Gallery of the West at +1-575-737-9200

YouTube video by Romancito House Media Recombinate

A flip-through of my little book called, "Recombinate," a verb. To splice, to rearrange.

#AssemblageArt #ArtistBook #MixedMediaArt #ContemporaryArt #FineArt #FoundObjects #CollageArt #StudioPractice #Recombinate #WomenArtists #ArtCollectors #HandmadeArt #ArtProcess

youtube.com/shorts/Rfbql...

Overhead view of a white table covered with small handmade assemblage book pages made from rough brown fibrous paper. Each page features layered collage elements including vintage photographs, postage stamps, a metal key with dried leaves, stitched thread, painted paper fragments, a silver cross pendant, and textured fabric trim. A glue stick and cutting mat sit nearby, suggesting an active studio workspace.

Taking a small, necessary detour from the canvas.

When the paint starts to feel predictable, I reach for scraps, fibers, old photographs, postage stamps, leaves, thread. These little books are quiet reliquaries.

#assemblageart #artistbook #mixedmediaart #contemporaryart #fineartist #collageart

Account Closed I’m turning an old Wells Fargo bank box into a book. There is something almost indecent about that. A bank box is designed to protect value — to seal it away, quantify it, defend it from risk. It e…

An accordion book is not obedient. Folded, it behaves — compact, contained, respectable. Open it, and it refuses restraint. It stretches across the table like a timeline you cannot edit. A record of deposits that were never meant for audit.

melodyromancito.wordpress.com/2026/02/17/a...

Small impressionistic landscape painting of a rural scene with a leaning white wooden fence in the foreground, tall grasses and yellow wildflowers, a large leafy green tree to the left, rolling blue mountains in the distance, and a sky filled with thick white and pale blue clouds. Visible brushstrokes and canvas texture give the piece a lively, textured feel.

"Lower Ranchitos #2, " oil on panel by Melwell, 6x6 – Call Parsons Gallery of the West at +1-575-737-9200

oh! you must be psychic! A catified quilt is in my future :-)

Stacked plastic and fabric storage bins beside a sewing table with a cutting mat. Each container is labeled with orange sticky notes reading “Cut It Up,” “Fabric Crumbs,” “Peacock 6" x 4" Squares,” and “Manley Quilt.” A blue fabric piece on the top shelf is marked “Crouching 9-Square Hidden Grandma.” The space appears neatly organized, with quilting materials sorted and ready for future projects.

Elbow says “rest.”
Studio says “organize.”
The quilt flimsy can wait. The elbow tendons get first priority.

Turns out discipline in art also means knowing when to pause.

#QuiltingLife #StudioReset #SlowMaking #TextileArt #CreativeProcess #ArtistLife #WorkInProgress #SewingStudio #RestIsProductive

Colorful landscape painting of three small pastel buildings nestled among tall, dark tree trunks with bright green leafy canopies. A grassy foreground with loose brushstrokes and scattered red flowers leads to a narrow road and low fence. Blue hills and a soft sky appear in the distance, creating a peaceful rural scene.

"House at the Top of the Road," oil on canvas by Melwell, 11x14 – Call Parsons Gallery of the West at +1-575-737-9200

too true!

Colorful transparent sewing clips scattered across a patchwork quilt in bright sunlight. A clear plastic container filled with more clips sits open near the top of the image. The quilt features various patterned squares, including cats, flowers, and insects, in soft pastel and muted tones. Strong sunlight casts sharp shadows of the clips across the fabric.

Get it together, Mel. Sheesh :-) My first "real" flimsy.

#QuiltingLife
#SewingStudio
#Patchwork
#QuiltInProgress
#SewingClips
#MakerLife
#FiberArt
#Handmade
#QuiltersOfInstagram
#CreativeProcess
#SunlitStudio
#SlowCraft
#TextileArt
#StudioMoments
#Sewcial

Sewing, Swearing, and the Thread That Broke Last night I only meant to run a couple of seams. Nothing ambitious. Just a quiet evening with the quilt, a small forward motion, the soft hum of the machine — the ordinary holiness of making somet…

"Because here’s the truth: thread breaks when tension is off. When the pull is uneven. When something is strained."

melodyromancito.wordpress.com/2026/02/15/s...

Funny! You must be selling NFTs.

Telephone lines. What are you gonna do? Most ignore. I used them to break up the space and lead the eye.

Oil painting of a small white house with a brown roof perched on a green hillside, partially hidden by lush, leafy trees. The sky is bright blue with large, soft white clouds, and a thin red-and-white streak runs diagonally across the upper left portion of the sky. The foreground shows earthy tones and loose, expressive brushstrokes suggesting ground or water. The style is painterly and semi-abstract, with visible layered brushwork and softened edges.

"The Towering Feeling," oil on canvas by Melwell, 9x12 - Call Parsons Gallery of the West at +1-575-737-9200

YouTube video by Romancito House Media Little Book 2

The second Little Book. I am expecting a set of four little boxes for the next little books in the series.

youtube.com/shorts/7Udyy...

The Moon We Prefer I asked AI for a waning crescent. Light on the left side. The thinning moon. The phase after fullness. What I kept getting back was the waxing crescent – light on the right. The moon of becoming. T…

A thought about AI and bias. melodyromancito.wordpress.com/2026/02/12/t...

Bright moon glowing above a distant mountain range at night, with scattered stars and thin clouds in the sky. A line of city lights stretches across the horizon below the mountains, while a dark field and a wooden railing are visible in the foreground.

moonrise over the eastern mountains, last quarter waning crescent. The coyotes greeted it with howls, and the dogs erupted. I went out and made a long, loud whistle and the coyotes and dogs went silent.

Impasto oil painting of a stylized mountain landscape with layered blue hills and white peaks beneath a sweeping sky. Rolling fields in soft blues and greens are dotted with tall, dark trees. Warm ochre and coral bands shape the terrain across the middle ground. In the foreground, thick palette-knife strokes form bright yellow chamisa bushes and a flowering tree bursting with orange and gold blossoms. A small dark silhouette of a person stands beside a dog on a green hillside. Heavy texture and visible brushstrokes give the scene a bold, tactile quality.

"Walk the Dog," oil on panel by Melwell, 10x8 – Call Parsons Gallery of the West at +1-575-737-9200

oh yeah. Sometimes the person who says it is able to cover the smirk with a raised eyebrow. Usually not, though.

When “Brave” Is a Compliment (And When It Isn’t) Several months ago, someone described my artwork as “brave.” Not a specific painting.Not a particular risk.My work in general. It’s a fascinating word. “Brave” is what you call someone who runs int…

What did you say? Really?

melwellromancitofineart.com/2026/02/when...

Colorful impressionistic painting of a tree-lined street in autumn, with thick textured brushstrokes in gold, orange, and blue. Tall trees with bright yellow foliage arch overhead, framing a dark blue pathway. Two small figures walk down the center of the road with a dog, surrounded by adobe-style buildings, warm-toned bushes, and distant green hills under a vivid blue sky.

"Autumn on Burch Street," oil on panel by Melwell, 16x12 – Call Parsons Gallery of the West at +1-575-737-9200

A stylized painting of stacked adobe buildings in warm tan and peach tones, rising in rounded tiers against a bright blue sky filled with large white clouds. Small, simplified human figures in colorful clothing stand along rooftops and at ground level, giving a sense of scale and community. Doors and windows are dark and rectangular, contrasting with the soft, curving architecture. The scene feels sunlit, calm, and slightly abstract, with visible brushstrokes throughout.

"North Side," oil on canvas by Melwell, 16x12 – Call Parsons Gallery of the West at +1-575-737-9200

Update: What Happened With Clubdeck—and Why It Still Matters A brief follow-up to my earlier post: Clubdeck is working again. After sustained user feedback, patches were released and functionality has been restored. From what’s visible publicly, the disrupti…

Clubdeck is back.After sustained user feedback, patches were released and functionality has been restored.

#clubdeck
#clubhouse

melodyromancito.wordpress.com/2026/02/10/u...