Melissa Hefferlin Studio

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United States
Saint Augustine, FL
Melissa Hefferlin Studio

An American painter, born in the 60's, Russian and American trained in Realism. Hefferlin divides her time between Andalusia, Spain and the USA.

09/01/2026

I don't draw enough. When I do sketch from life, the results vary, but I am always so happy that I did so. The memory that is derived from sketches is so much more potent for me than from photographs. (Palermo)

08/30/2026

"Feria," the county-fair-like tradition of Spain, has been a huge inspiration to me over the last 15 years. I was invited twice to participate in the equestrian promenade, and I'l never forget it.

08/27/2026

Two paintings I am proud of, though the subject matter and method sit well outside my usual practice.

Each panel is essentially a visual biography; decades of a family and a business condensed into a single frame. You'll find portraits of specific people at different ages, period vehicles and buildings, product packaging, moments from the company's history, all composed to be read like a story rather than a scene.

I paid my way through my first two years of art school by working in the McKee Foods art department, on the team that designed packaging for Little Debbie and Sunbelt snacks. I went to school with members of the family, and I count them as friends to this day. When Jack McKee asked me to paint two panels reflecting the history of their family business from the Great Depression to the present, I was deeply honored.

The paintings hang in the Erlanger Children's Outpatient Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the city where McKee Foods was founded.

A Boy Named for a Cookie and A Cookie Named for a Girl. Oil on canvas, each 40 × 80 inches, 2020.

08/25/2026

"Harvest" Watercolor on paper, 9 x 12 inches, 2026.

What is it about an abundance of fruit, especially lemons, that brings so much delight? We picked these together, and stacked them up on a favorite platter. I loved the pile of yellow so much that I sat down with my sketchbook and just played, trying to grab at least an impression of the seemingly limitless expressions of "yellow."

08/23/2026

Three, Almost of a Kind. Oil on linen, 21.5 x 26 inches. 2026.

I enjoyed every stage of this one, including the weird frontal lighting.

In the past I have avoided mixing different styles of rabbits in the same composition. Here I decided to throw them all together and see what happened. They didn't exactly cozy up to one another. But I am sensing a camaraderie among them.

08/20/2026

Decades ago I had a private student we will call "A." She was an absolute delight to teach, patient with my twenty words to her one, quick to learn, and someone who genuinely loved making things and drinking cappuccino.

When our time together ended and she headed to university, she gave me this teapot: hand-made in Japan, in the most luscious of blues. Sometimes cerulean, sometimes violet. Its two rounded forms are a pleasure to draw.

I have been painting that teapot for more than twenty-six years. A is coming to visit us in Europe next month. Both have worn well.

08/18/2026

Waterfront Celebration. Oil on canvas, 72 × 72 inches, 2005.

Summer has me thinking about rivers and swimming. Which reminded me of the Tennessee River. When then-Mayor Bob Corker's administration renovated Chattanooga's riverfront around 2004 and 2005, they launched a competition for a commemorative painting. I won the commission, and created this oil painting for them.

The composition represents sky, earth, and river, celebrating the architecture, activities, and history of the area. With permission, I incorporated Cherokee symbols from those installed in the Riverfront Park.

The painting hangs today in City Hall.

08/16/2026

Red is never just red.

08/13/2026

One day I was sitting in the office of my sister Heidi, and on her desk she had an array of toys she's purchased when traveling. Little Mexican wobbly toys, stuffed miniatures and things.

We both love rabbits. I saw this wooden toy with wheel, and begged ferociously for it. She "LOANED" it to me for strictly artistic purposes. I am CERTAIN that someday I will return it. I occasionally roll it across the floor, just for the delight of it. Look at the sweet turn of the ears!

08/11/2026

I prefer to begin messy, and all over the canvas, so I can see the color relationships and decide if I am committed to the composition. Normally I begin with paint directly on canvas, but as this was an older painting I would paint over, I preferred to start the drawing with vine charcoal instead. You can still see the ghost of what was underneath.

After many months of figure painting, I am enjoying working again with my avatars and with metaphors.

Work in progress.

Address

25 King Street
Saint Augustine, FL
32084

Website

http://www.melissahefferlin.com/

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