Joan Melnick was Born 1942 in New York in 1942 and began painting at an early age. She studied Interior Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and then went on to study printmaking and painting at New Paltz State University, where she recieved her Masters in Art. Joan Melnick is considered a colorist, extraordinarily sensitive to the expressive and evocative roles that color plays in art and nature. Usually subtle and fragile, sometimes direct and bold, she handles her transitions from light to shadow with absolute precision. She controls the delicate balance of color, light, and form in a painterly parallel to organic growth.