The Rising Storm by Melissa Gay

Title:	The Rising Storm
Date Created:	November 2024
Copyright:	© Melissa Gay
Genre:	Fantasy
Mediums:	Acrylic, Charcoal, Mixed Media
Views:	162
Posted:	11/1/2025

Projects: I have crowdfunded and produced two art books-- Finding My Familiar (wildlife drawings on toned paper) and Earth and Water (sumi-e and other ink art), and I' m currently working on a third called I Dream of Space. Described by Toni Weisskopf as " romantic spaceships," my sci-fi paintings are fantastical and expressionistic, as if I were an ancient astronomer seeing the scenes in dreams. I create them by building up textures and illuminating the happy accidents I find within. I like to push the boundaries between narrative decision and randomness-- it' s how I make sense of art, and of life! (As to whether there is also a secret fantasy art book in the works, I have no comment except life is short and I' ve got a lot of art in me to put out into the world!)

Location: Nashville, TN

This piece is about transformative rage against the removal of our rights and protections, against all that which tells us to suppress who and what we are. Rage is not always negative, however. It can galvanize people into action for the common good. May we all find the strength to channel our rage into productive actions to make the world a better place. From the eye of the storm, we can envision a brighter future.