Melanie is a self taught painter  who loves painting trees and bodies of water. She loves using the detail, light, and color to make you feel like you are there. 

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For Melanie O’Keefe, details are everything. The local artist has impressed several members of Birmingham’s artistic community with her intricately detailed acrylic portraits. O’Keefe usually does landscapes but has stretched her abilities to personal portraits as well.

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That detail is why her paintings captivate, she says. “I have people look at my work and they go, ‘That’s not a painting! That’s a portrait!’ They’re just so blown away by how much I care about the details. … A lot of people like the more contemporary and abstract artwork because it’s the mainstream thing right now.. I just don’t see things that way. I see every little detail, every little shadow. I love the way light hits an object. I always try to do things where there’s a lot of light so you can see all of the shading and contrast.”