Abstract artist Melissa Ayr pushes the boundaries of art so vehemently they often collapse. The result is a mélange of energy, emotion and color bursting with fluidity, growth and life. While she’ll occasionally reach for a paintbrush, most of her art is created using her fingers, hands, breasts, and her body on an endless variation of objects and materials.
Her current focus is bringing a new dimension of life to musical instruments, with a body of work Melissa calls “Ayr Instruments.” Current pieces in the expanding collection include a piano, guitar, violin, ukulele and saxophone.
The “Ayr Instruments” collection fits with Melissa’s penchant for consistently changing her environment, using the materials around her to create her art in the moment. Whether she’s working with oils, acrylics, inks, chalks or watercolors, each piece she creates is inspired by the energy of the moment, and each has its own unique story.
Whatever the story of each piece may be, they all share one thing in common: they expose the ultimate truth. Melissa strives to uncover areas of the world that others are unable to see and create truth that others are unwilling to create. With time, persistence and practice, she has been able to open these treasures to share with others.
Those treasures have been in high demand. In addition to being sought-after for private collections for a client base that reaches throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States, Melissa was one of 10 contemporary artists in the U.S. to be represented by Ruinart Champagne, a brand of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey.
Additional credits include speaking at the World Art Olympiad in Washington, D.C., a quadrennial celebration where children from around the world collaborate to celebrate their creativity and imagination.
This showcases the ability of Melissa’s art to push past generational and cultural boundaries, as well. Her art speaks loud and clear to audience members of all ages, from all backgrounds in all regions. That’s because her paintings guide her down a path where the world opens up to her, a place where she no longer needs words to communicate with others.
This is a realm where color, composition and form take on a meaning all their own to help form a complete thought. It’s a magical realm where her purpose in life is being passionately fulfilled.
“I am here to create art,” Melissa says. “I am here to touch others with art. The energy that flows throughout my body is put into my body of artwork. I am always striving to capture the feeling, depth and flow of the moment. My desire is for a person to relax and let their mind wander and refresh as they look at the artwork.”
Whether she’s painting on a piano or using a leaf blower to blast colors onto a canvas, Melissa’s work captures the energy of the moment in a way no others have even attempted. Her work explodes with vibrant colors, exotic textures and a fresh perspective that breathes new meaning and life into the world of art.