Ed Mell

Art Brokerage: Ed Mell American Artist: b. 1942. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Ed Mell started drawing as soon as he could hold a pencil. Influenced by his brother's drawings of WWII combat aircraft and soldiers, Mell found his own hobby designing model automobiles. Mell enrolled in The Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles to pursue his interest in illustration. During his time there Mell broadened his artistic technique and learned to express his artistic conviction. After graduating, Mell established his own illustration firm, Sagebrush Studios. Sagebrush Studios had much success, with illustrations appearing in publications like Esquire and Psychology Today. Mell later returned to his Arizona roots and began sketching landscapes using colored pencils. Colored pencils turned into paints and by 1978 he had made the transition from commercial artist to landscape painter. Throughout the years, Mell has constantly changed the subjects he depicts and the techniques to capture them. Beginning specifically with southwest landscapes, he has moved to other southwestern subjects including cowboys, horses, longhorn cattle and cacti. Although best known for his oil paintings, he also developed an avid body of collectors for his bronze sculptures. Mell's artwork has been exhibited in nine museum shows, including the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Wester Art and the Rockwell-Corning Museum of Modern Art. More than 40 corporate and private collections have acquired his work, and his life as an artist has been chronicled in major art publications. Listings wanted.