Melissa Mae Kors creates narratives in her paintings by depicting a moment in time of her subjects. It is up to the viewer to decipher the story. Her figurative acrylic paintings are colorful with patterns moving through out their compositions. The skin and fur of the living subjects in her pieces are painted to create a 3D illusion. In contrast, the clothing and background are flat and packed with decorative patterns. Kors’ subject matter is often about spirituality, materialism, sexuality, and society, and her portrait style can be categorized as Modern with a look similar to Art Nouveau. Artists who have influenced her work are Gustav Klimt, John Waterhouse, and Toulouse-Lautrec.
Born in 1979 and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as a child, she remembers doodling with her dad, and learning painting tricks from Bob Ross and practicing drawing exercises with Captain Mark on PBS. In college, she discovered her love of acrylic paint and how to apply layers of tinted transparent glazes on top of a base painting of neutral tones and shades sculpting form. Melissa Mae believes that “Every small particle is essential to the large piece they create - in art, society, and the living”.
