About Melissa Parhm

Classically trained in the United States (MFA, Savannah College of Art and Design University) and Europe, Melissa is a master of the traditional techniques of drawing, oil painting, and silverpoint that date back to the Renaissance. Her work is filled with a devotional reverence for nature with a special emphasis on portraying the effects of light, patterns of nature, emotions of the human form, and sensitivities to culture and her Buddhist practice.

Her silverpoint drawing series, exhibited at the de Young Museum, titled Upturned Roots: Reflections on the California Droughts and Fires, illuminated her passion for depicting the elements of water and fire, and was based on her walks through groves of giant oak trees following the California fires of 2018. An active member of the art community, she exhibits her work and teaches at various schools and art centers in the Bay Area. 

Multitalented, Melissa’s work is also seen in sculpture, fibers, ceramics, and book illustrations. She donated artwork to the 2021 CovART Challenge which in total raised enough funds to provide over 200,000 meals which Flying Kites delivered to children in rural Kenya. Melissa’s work can be found in Italian church frescoes, the Shelton Theater in San Francisco, the National Academy of Art in New York, the dharmata Foundation in Pt. Richmond, California, and the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.