Melissa Harris At Arabica Coffee Shop
Accomplished artist from New York, Melissa Harris, is now showing work at Arabica Coffee Shop in Portland, Maine. Her new work is a series of watercolors painted while she was in Freeport, Maine. Melissa earned a BFA degree in Painting from Syracuse University, an MFA in painting from Queens College, and in addition spent several years painting in Paris with a Fulbright grant. She describes her art making process as a spiritual journey and says "painting is my medicine…Through these decades of a sometimes erratic and ever-evolving life, painting had been the one constant. Relationships and homes have come and gone, but my paint box is always with me…. A connection to Mother Earth fuels my being and inspires [my] imagery". 
Melissa's work is also Crema Coffee in Portland and has received great feedback! An anonymous customer left their comments:
"I happened to be sitting in my favorite seat at Coffee Crema in Portland, tucked in by the fireplace where they have a plug for my PC. I sit here for hours at a time, and I was so pleased this morning to see the painting "Fleeting Moment" on the brick wall next to me, almost like it was placed here for my benefit. It's really nice. I'm not even sure exactly how to describe why I like some art over others except that I am sensitive to how a painting makes me feel. This one brings a moment of peace, which is always nice! I think it's partly the excellent play between the yellow, blue, green, and purple, and partly the thoughts it conjures up about what the girl is looking at and thinking about. She does look a bit fleeting, but committed enough to put her hands on the sill, which makes me think it was important but not life threatening. The "why" doesn't matter anyway though - it's all about the feeling I get while looking at it. A moment of calm, and a relaxing trip into her world, away from the emails and work I'm doing here.So thanks. Sorry I can't buy it. But I like it, and the moment it let me visit. (And the additional moments I took to write you and let the painting roll around in my head)."
Fleeting Moment by Melissa Harris
Visit Arabica located at 2 Free St. Portland, Maine, and Crema Coffee Shop, located at 9 Commercial Street in Portland to enjoy their menus and see more of Melissa and other artist's work.
