Week 7: Melissa Depaz

The artist that I chose to do my presentation on is Melissa Depaz. I chose this artist because she is an artist from my city (Compton). I heard about the artist through a friend and she told me the relationship she had built with our favorite coffee shop (Patria). I then noticed some of her work displayed in the coffee shop and I was instantly in love with it. Seeing her growth through her involvement with the community has been inspiring. She has been an inspiring individual on the approach that I want to have in my community. The three pictures that I chose were unique in their connections to the community. The sweatshirt is a collaboration between Compton college, the painting is the painting on display at Patria coffee, and lastly the mural is in Gonzales park in Compton. I have noticed two unique techniques that she uses in her work. She does layers of paint and she does sketch drawings. The part that stands out to me from the techniques she uses is it is like black and white film. I think her involvement with the community is really special because I see her doing work for the city of Compton and and as a result the community embraces her work and has allowed her to do a mural and work with the city to create the art in the Compton loteria. I cant wait to see how she continues to grow as time passes and the different opportunities that will come out as she continues to put on for the city.