In 1999, I built www.FlyingGirl.com as a way to share my art.  It began as a single page built on some silly AOL platform and grew to thousands of pages of unique artwork.  Folks from every US state and 40 foreign countries adopted more than 2,000 original works of art through FlyingGirl.com since 1999! Thank you for your support!  FlyingGirl.com remains open as a gallery featuring my newest flying and floating work.

I found over time that I was creating images to fit the FlyingGirl identity and that was limiting the range of content available to me as well as curtailing stylistic exploration, too.  In November of 2008, I launched www.SimpleTermsArt.com, as a gallery to feature my new works from late 2008 on.  SimpleTerms is a place for me to run wild.  I like to create rules for myself and to categorize things, but I am determined not to do that here.  No rules.  No restrictions.  The sky is the limit.

FlyingGirl content is now mostly displayed through the directories on SimpleTerms.  In essence, FlyingGirl.com is now a branch of SimpleTermsArt and they function together as one big website.  I think they may actually the biggest single-artist gallery online.

I have memories of drawing that predate my memories of speaking.  My entire life revolves around color.  I don't know how to "process" life without paint.  Art is how I live. 

My name is Melissa A. Robinson and I live in rural Minnesota.  I have been creating little pictures for more than 25 years now.  I am primarily a painter.  I have an art degree and have studied at several fine institutions, but mostly I am a painter because I live to paint.  And occasionally draw.  And sometimes write.  But mostly paint.  These images that I create are not intellectual exercises or commodities or fancy treasures.  They are just tiny glimpses of the world inside my odd little mind.  I paint what I see.  This is my world.  Welcome.

I create unique little pictures full of natural organic shapes and lines.  Using whatever tools and materials I can get my hands on.  I package these treats to be sure they will arrive at your home safely.  But I have been moving away from fancy new materials and towards recycling and repurposing existing supplies.  If you have questions about how a particular piece was created or how to properly care for original art, please email me.  I would be happy to share what I know.

Mostly my original works are small because I love the intimacy of small pictures.  But those of you with a hankering for big art will be happy to know many of my pieces are available in larger sizes on high-quality prints found in my Zazzle shops.

When I began my art career, it was all about original pieces and getting those in the hands of art lovers.  But over the years I have become much more enamored of modern processes that offer historic options to artists.  For the first time ever, we can see our art on a host of gorgeous high-quality products and printed things without investing huge sums of money to order large quantities of stuff.  I am less concerned now with the eventual sale of original pieces and more interested in translating my paintings to useful items and affordable prints that can brighten the homes of many more folks for just a few dollars.

I generally release new pieces in my Zazzle shops first.  So be sure to stop by often and check out what is new....  

This is a wonderful time to be an artist!

SimpleTerms on Zazzle

FlyingGirl on Zazzle

I make art for people. Not for galleries. Not to impress other artists. Sometimes just to entertain myself. But mostly I make art for people. Because some connections are deeper than words. Because art is what I have to give. Color feeds me. Heals me. Lines, too. Shapes. Light. Emotion. That is the stuff behind it all. Emotion. Power. Faith.

My work is a way of weaving together the many resources we need to cope with modern life. Virtues and failings balanced with humor and grace. Scrubbing away the gobbledygook to get to the heart of things. The Holy stuff. The pulsing beat of love that sings just below all of our daily concerns. I try to capture that. Even just a glimpse of that. To remind folks - to remind myself - that our lives are not just routines and drivel. Not just responsibilities and duties and things to buy. Our lives are poems unfolding. Beautiful dramas full of unseen forces at play. Our lives are art. God's art. And when my odd little pictures are successful. They give you a moment, a space, to breath in and remember the beauty of life unfolding.

I am eternally grateful for your interest in my work and your support.  You make my art (and, so, my life) possible. 

Love to you,