Melanie M Brannan

For me, painting is like having a conversation with my best friend—silent, yet deeply understood. There’s no need for words. I’ve learned to read the paint the way we read body language. When a painting is finished, that part of the conversation ends, but it continues to speak. You just have to be still and present to hear it. My hope is that each painting speaks to others in its own way—and invites them into a conversation of their own.

From 1985 to 2008, I ran my graphic design firm, Brannan Design, working with Fortune 500 clients nationally and internationally. In 2009, I shifted my focus to painting, and it quickly became both a passion and a calling.

I work in several series. My impasto pieces are rich, textured works—thick and luscious—now residing in homes across the U.S. My Serenity Series, which I began in 2013, features abstract landscapes infused with a sense of peace and emotional calm. PopRocks is my tribute series, celebrating the music and performers who’ve shaped my life. My newest body of work, The Apple Tree, tells the story of a tree in Santa Fe and the many animals it nurtures and feeds—a quiet homage to nature and interconnection.

I’m also an educator, teaching in both Dallas and Santa Fe. I lead classes fo...

BFA Louisiana Tech Univeristy

2025
ALG Fine Art, Dallas Design District
Lewisville Art League: Strictly Abstract
San Francisco Street Gallery, Santa Fe NM
Horses in Motion Gallery, Tubac, AZ

2024
ALG Fine Art, Dallas Design District,  Juried Show
Horses in Motion Gallery, Tubac, AZ
San Francisco Street Gallery, Santa Fe NM
Solo Exhibition: Camp Magic, Eisemann Center, Dallas TX,
benefitting Camp Esperanza, 15 paintings sold raising $12,000
Dallas Bath House and Cultural Center, Deep Dive Group Show
Lewisville Art League: Textures and Patterns
Lewisville Art League: Cowboys and Critters
McKinney Arts Festival

2023
San Francisco Street Gallery, Santa Fe NM
Yale University, National Juried Exhibition, New Haven CT
McKinney Art Gallery, McKinney TX
Daum Gallery, Dallas Design District
Ren Collection, Dallas Design District
Oasis Gallery, Frisco, TX

2022
ArtExpo Dallas
Art San Diego
ArtExpo Santa Fe
ArtExpo New York
Art Gallery Pure, Dallas

2021
Hamptons Fine Art Fair
Pacific Art League, Juried Exhibition, Palo Alto, CA
ART COMES ALIVE; National Juried Exhibition, Cincinnati OH,
Solo Exhibition, ADC Fine Art Cincinnati OH
Solo Exhibition: “A Celebration of Friendship” benefitting AIM at Melanoma, Eisemann Center, Dallas, TX
ART214 Juried Exhibition, Dallas...