Melissa Pinney Artist’s Biography

melissa pinney, artist self portrait sitting outside with the sun on her face
Melissa Pinney, Artist Self Portrait
Oil on Encaustic Panel, 12″ x 12″ x 1 1/2″, ©2019
Private Collection

South Carolina artist Melissa Pinney creates art inspired by her personal experiences traveling near and far. Most all of her artwork has a connection to nature or design elements in man made objects. Experimentation with subjects and media are an important part of her work.

Painting as a creative outlet was a new chapter in Melissa’s life. Always interested in and a supporter of the both the visual and dramatic arts, it wasn’t until after her son completed college that she began taking painting lessons. Learning a new craft energized her in unexpected ways; painting successes were fulfilling and failures were only new problem solving opportunities to try a different approach or technique.

Melissa was raised on a small farm in the tight-knit rural community of Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, on the outskirts of Knoxville, where her family has resided for many generations. After a career as a marketing professional in the finance industry, she retired in 2017 and currently resides in Greer, South Carolina. 

Melissa holds a B.S. from the University of Tennessee and a M.B.A. from Columbus State University, and recently returned to Greenville Technical College to take fine art classes. 

Exhibits and Awards

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