2024 Senior Exhibition Artists

Melissa McIsaac

Concentration: Art + Design: Illustration

About Melissa McIsaac

Her goals are to exhibit her work in museums and galleries. She is as inspired by every day human experience as she is by the far reaches of outer space.  In addition to pursuing illustration, Melissa is a self-taught landscape oil painter, and her the focus is on the coast of Maine. She uses gestural strokes of lights and shadow to evoke playfulness in her paintings. She has exhibited her work in galleries such as the Deer Isle Art Association and the Blue Hill library.

Statement

This senior project explores educational facts about the planets in a whimsical and playful manner with an underlying theme of inclusion, teamwork, and individuality. These pieces collectively show characters engaged in fanciful play on each planet, such as playing instruments off of Jupiter’s magnetic field, catching diamonds in Neptune’s atmosphere, or flying kites inside of Mercury’s comet. Through my illustrations, I hope to create a visual statement that will show the viewer that there is an interconnectedness between every single human on this planet and the environment. I plan to develop this series into a children’s book to encourage young people to wonder about the universe, to think beyond the obvious, and to respect all human beings.