Gertie Mellon, a native of Ireland, received her degree in Art and Design at University College Carlow. Subsequently she worked for many years as a Graphic Artist in Dublin.

The contrast between her early life in rural Ireland and her time spent over the past thirty years in American cities, Chicago, New York and San Francisco Bay Area has greatly influenced the subject matter of her paintings.

During this time she has witnessed how the city encroaches upon empty landscape, always pushing up and out while also noticing that if untended, as in a garden, the city turns to urban decay. This also reflects how our surroundings can affect our physical selves. These dichotomies have become the forces behind her abstract and figurative paintings.

She works in both oil and acrylic paint, and sometimes introduces collage into her work. It is her emotion and reaction to these elements that dictate how she paints as she try’s to capture a movement or space with a juxtaposition of bold and precise strokes. Her studio is located in Palo Alto, CA.

EXHIBITIONS

2016
"Silicon Valley Open Studios” Palo Alto Studios, 4030 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA 

2015
"Sexism A Touchy Subject” Juried Exhibition, Arc Gallery,  1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA
"Silicon Valley Open Studios” Palo Alto Studios, 4030 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA
"Holiday Show" Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA

2014
"Silicon Valley Open Studios” Palo Alto Studios, 4030 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA
"Holiday Show” Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 

2013

Silicon Valley Open Studios Palo Alto Studios, 4030 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA
Mistral 370 Bridge Parkway, Redwood City, CA
Hinc Gallery 101 Henry Adams Street, Gallery Suite 315, San Francisco, CA
"Holiday Show” Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA

2012

“Let’s Catch a Wave” Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave, Santa Clara, CA
“Go Figure” Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA  
Hinc Gallery, 101 Henry Adams Street, Gallery Suite 315, San Francisco, CA
“Holiday Show” Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studio, Palo Alto Studios, 4030 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA
Los Gatos Co., 17½ North Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA
“The Guerilla Show” Bay Area Juried Exhibition Arc Gallery, 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA

2011
"Holiday Show” Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA
“Space and Form” Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA
“The Works Exhibit” South Bay Area Women’s Caucus for Art, 451 South First Street, San Jose, CA
“Shades of Red” Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Mistral, 370 Bridge Parkway, Redwood City, CA
“Small Works” Gallery House, 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studio, Palo Alto Studios, 4030 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA
Stanford Blood Center, 3373 Hillview Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga, CA
Tide House, 954 Villa Street, Mountain View, CA
“Fiesta Gala Event” Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave, Santa Clara, CA
“Better Luck Next Time” Invitational Show at Works, San Jose, CA

2010
Avalon Art & Yoga Center, 370 South California Street, Palo Alto, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studio, Palo Alto Studios, 4030 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA
Stanford Blood Center, 3373 Hillview Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Martin Luther King Library Invitational Show SVOS, San Jose, CA

2009
Silicon Valley Community Foundation, 2440 West El Camino Real, Suite 300, Mountain View, CA
Larkin Spears, 2400 Geng Road, Suite 110, Palo Alto, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studios, Palo Alto Studios, 4030 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA

2008
Silicon Valley Community Foundation, 2440 West El Camino Real, Suite 300, Mountain View, CA
Great American Framing Co. Invitational Show SVOS, 229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Pacific Art League Invitational Show SVOS, 668 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, CA

EDUCATION  

2001-2006
Foothill College, Los Altos, CA
Fine Arts Laboratory - Department Honors Project in Art - Interdisciplinary Elective Arts Lab - Directed Study in Painting - Monoprinting - Advanced Painting, Portrait Drawing, and Figure Drawing
1991-1994
Advanced Adobe Illustrator - Layout Graphic Design - Advanced Painter
1973-1976
University College Carlow, Ireland
Bachelor Degree with Honors in Art and Design

WORK EXPERIENCE

1983-1984  Senior Designer & Graphic Artist: Key Communications, Dublin, Ireland
1981-1983  Senior Graphic Artist: Spencer Mackey Advertising, Dublin, Ireland
1976-1981  Graphic Artist: Klassen Mc Hugh & Wasserman Ad Agency, Dublin, Ireland

AWARDS

2002-2004  Certificate of Excellence in Studio Art at Foothill College, Los Altos, CA

ART GROUP AFFILIATIONS

‘Women’s Caucus for the Arts’ South Bay Chapter, California   
‘Gallery House’ 320, Palo Alto, California
‘Art Liaisons,’ San Francisco Bay Area, California  
‘Art Slant’ online Gallery  
‘Berkeley Art Center,’ Berkeley, California
'Peninsula Arts Council' (PAC), Burlingame, California