Melana Bontrager

Melana Bontrager is a painter based in Everett, Washington. While working toward a fine arts degree at Taylor University in Indiana, Melana had the privilege to study at Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy. After completing her bachelor’s degree in fine art with a focus on abstraction, she moved to New York to study Art Therapy at Hempstead University.

These rich experiences of art and life led her to develop her signature approach to art: her work explores the everyday experiences of being human through metaphoric landscapes using ink or graphite lines and acrylic mediums.

“I believe everyone has a story to tell. Within our stories, individual experiences can sometimes feel fragmented, out-of-place, useless, or random at best. And yet, we find ourselves able to connect to the stories of others because we identify with these disjointed spaces. Listening to each other’s stories reveals connections, hope, and a reminder that we don’t traverse this life alone. I’m also interested in history. The relationships between what has changed and what remains throughout time is of particular interest to me. In painting, pentimenti refers to an artist’s former choices or direction seen in mark-making that another layer has covered. I’m intrigued by the spaces where the curtain is pulled back and that change of direction, the pentimenti, is seen. In my painting, I explore the fascinating, web-like link between all humanity. In these places, we learn from each other when the experiences, choices, and philosophies touch, overlap, inform.”

Follow the artist along: www.mbontragerart.com
Melana is featured inside the Spring 2025 Edition of the Art Seen.