Melissa Tobia
Astoria, NY - United States
Melissa Tobia - Fine Artist
Member Since: 08/08/2008
Melissa Tobia is a New York City award-winning pastel artist and recipient of the Chemical Bank Art Award and The Dawn Marie Benz Scholarship. She also won the Second Place Award presented by Congressman Tom Downey for her work in an exhibition at the Islip Art Museum. This year she won a 'Member's Choice' award for her oil painting 'New York Muscari' featured in the EBSQ Online gallery.
She has a passionate fascination and reverence for the magnificent world of flowers. Her current series of expressive pastel paintings of flowers are inspired by frequent photographic excursions to the Botanical Gardens and Nature Conservatories and those she grows in her garden. Vibrant colors, contrasting shapes, light and shadow set the stage for her bold and dramatic compositions. The artist has a keen attention to detail and she enjoys illuminating those personified qualities that often go unnoticed by the casual observer.
Tobia's work is in many private collections throughout the U.S. and is in the collection of the Long Island Bank, among other public collections. She studied at the Art Student's League of New York under artists Barbara Adrian and Ephraim Rubenstein. She is currently a member of Pen & Brush, EBSQArt.com, and The Art Student's League of NY. Melissa studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology and she received her B.F.A. from School of Visual Arts in New York, NY.
Praise for Melissa Tobia
'Melissa Tobia is a versatile and talented artist who excels in every medium of her choice. Her technical prowess and her observation to detail are equal to her imaginative and innovative use of color and expression. Her poetic florals capture the very essence and personality of her subjects.'
-- Renée Phillips, Director of Manhattan Arts International and author.
