Melissa B. Tubbs

Melissa B. Tubbs has been creating finely detailed pen-and-ink drawings of architectural subjects for 17 years. Her works document buildings and their ornamentation in order to preserve them for future generations. She is a firm believer in the proverb “The wise man preserves that which he values and celebrates that which he preserves.” Form, line, and light have more emphasis in black and white, perfect for rendering architectural elements and ornamentation. She is interested in conveying the depth created by the contrast of bright light and cast shadows. The woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer and wood engravings of Barry Moser have influenced her pen-and-ink work. Ms. Tubbs lives and works in Montgomery, AL. Melissa’s father was a pilot in the Air Force and moving every three years exposed her to many interesting places. She has always created art, but it wasn’t until her sister asked her to create a pen-and-ink drawing of her father-in-law’s house for a Christmas present that she discovered her love of architecture as subject matter. While the pen-and-ink medium is self-taught, Melissa has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Design from Auburn University in Auburn, AL and spent 25 years producing magazines. She has been a full-time artist for 12 years. Her work has been shown throughout the United States. Besides Montgomery, her artwork has been juried into exhibitions in New York City, NY; Los Angeles, CA; New Orleans, LA; San Francisco, CA; Hilton Head, SC; Sarasota, FL; Winston-Salem, NC; Alexandria, VA; Bridgeport, CT and Rockville, MD. These exhibitions have led to commissions from organizations such as the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the Montgomery Area Business Committee for the Arts, and the Will’s Guild/Montgomery Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Tour of Homes as well as many private commissions. Ms. Tubbs’ accomplishments include: lecturer presenting, “Empire of the Eye: Drawing Methods & Materials of Leonardo da Vinci,” Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL in 2008; participant in the 5th Annual Evening of Arts & Entertainment, Los Angeles, CA; two drawings included in the 2008 “The Fine Art of Drawing” Invitational, Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts; 72nd National Midyear Exhibition, 3 drawings, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH; National Small Works Exhibition, National Association of Women Artists (NAWA), New York City, NY; two drawings included in the 2007 "Lineal Investigations" drawing exhibition at the Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport, CT; “Manhattan Indian, NYC” one of 25 works selected for “Sense of Place” a 2007 exhibition at the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery in Alexandria, VA; two drawings in the 34th Annual Juried Competition 2007, “Hunt Memorial, NYC,” 3rd Place, at the Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA; “Twenty Years: The Montgomery Area Business Committee for the Arts,” Alabama State Council for the Arts Exhibition 2006; “Connecting Alabama,” six artists, Alabama State Council for the Arts Exhibition 2005; first prize and honorable mention for two drawings in the 2005 Selma Art Guild Juried Summer Exhibition; six drawings selected for inclusion in the “Montgomery & River Region Sketchbook,” a showcase book published March 2005 by Indigo Publishing, Macon, GA; an article featuring her pen-and-ink drawings in the November 2004 issue of American Artist magazine; a solo show, “Sunlight and Shadow,” November 2004-February 2005, Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL; “In the Spotlight,” Fall 2004, exhibition at the NAWA Gallery, New York City; February 2004, traveled to Acapulco, Mexico to teach elementary school children art and art history; one of three artists exhibited in “An Absence of Color,” December 2003-January 2004, at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City; received the NAWA Medal of Honor and the Elizabeth Stanton Blake Memorial Award of $1,000 for Work on Paper in the 2003 Annual Exhibition of NAWA in New York City; represented the state of Alabama in creating a three-dimensional architectural ornament of a historical home for the Official White House Christmas Tree for 2001 (the ornament is now in the White House permanent ornament collection); an instructor for the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the Arts Council of Montgomery (Artist-In-Residence, 2005); recipient of the prestigious Eben Demarest Trust Grant, an award from Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, PA in 1999. Ms. Tubbs’ works are currently on display at Stonehenge Gallery in Montgomery.