[Olive Tree in Fall Foliage]
Copyright © by Frances Melis. All rights reserved.
[The Old Docks in Hora]
Copyright © by Frances Melis. All rights reserved.
[Tourlitis Lighthouse at Night]
Copyright © by Frances Melis. All rights reserved.
[Andros Lemons]
Copyright © by Frances Melis. All rights reserved.
[The Wisdom of the Olive Tree]
Copyright © by Frances Melis. All rights reserved.
was born in Apikia on the Greek island of Andros, where she spent her early childhood.
In 1938, she and her mother left Andros to travel to the United States to join her
father who was working in New York. Since childhood, Frances always had paper and pen
at hand, and drew everything in sight. She took classes in art and fashion design in
high school.
In 1953, she returned briefly to Andros, where she painted the landscapes
of the island. She soon left for New York again where she got married and raised a
family. Art was put aside until her oldest daughter talked her into taking drawing
classes in the evening at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. From then on,
art became her constant companion.
Because her desire to live on the island of Andros had never left her, Frances Melis
and her husband settled permanently in Greece in 1986. Now 85 years old, she spends
summers on the island and winters in Athens, with occasional visits to New York.
Her time on Andros gives her opportunities to paint the countryside and to create
still lifes.
Beginning in 1986, paintings by Frances Melis have been shown in solo exhibits, with
the most recent one in July 2015 in Hora, Andros. Her works have also appeared in
several group exhibits organized by the Paradise Hotel in Andros. Several of her
paintings appear in a book by Dora Illiopoulou-Rogan, Andros by Contemporary Greek
Artists, which includes works from the 2007 Paradise Hotel Exhibit by the same
title.
Email contact: francesmelis [at] gmail [dot] com
