ABOUT THE ARTIST
Anastasia O’Melveny is a self-taught artist living and working in Massachusetts. She was born in Seattle Washington but grew up in scenic Western Maryland, finishing school in the DC area.
She has used a multitude of artistic mediums over the years to express spiritual themes and celebrate the beauty of the natural world. In her quest to capture the special moments and unique details she hopes to share with others she has employed painting, photography, mixed media and collage, music and video, digital and dynamic mediums, sculpture, architecture, wood, paper and glass, fabric and other crafts, music, poetry and writing. Most of her works include a written note concerning the piece, its creation and/or meaning.
From infancy she was fascinated by art, and spent long hours looking at art books. She especially loved drawing and painting and her favorite subject was always animals. Undiagnosed autism and learning disabilities complicated her early life and precluded a higher education. It was not until age 56 that was she was finally diagnosed as having Autism. Nevertheless, she managed to follow an artistic path.
Recently, thanks to a special educational opportunity, she has been able to study Art, primarily at Boston University, focusing on Traditional and Old Master Painting Techniques, Life Drawing, Color Theory and Sculpture. Added to that are studies in Theology and Religious Art and tradtions around the world.
When not busy creating works specifically for upcoming competitions and exhibits, or completing commissioned pieces, she is working on her own series of works, currently an "Environmental Series", her "Life Forms" series, and a new "Art and The Cosmos" series, which includes a lot of multi-media content. She also working on a number of books which also include multi-media components and so may be enjoyed virtually.
She is represented by the AANE Gallery in Watertown, Massachusetts, which showcases the work of Autistic Artists.
In addition to making art she also builds and manages websites for artists, musicians and poets, as well as leading a large Nationwide community of autistic artists, the AANE Artist Collaborative.