Artist Statement I’ve been drawing since I was a kid but only became serious about painting when I reached my early fifties. My perceptions, like my art, continue to evolve. My early work focused on objects and places. Much of my later work has focused on exploring our common humanity. In 2019 I made a trip through the Mississippi Delta and met people whose life experiences were vastly different from mine. Their faces reflected struggle and hope. My intention is that my art offers a glimpse into our common humanity. As one Mississippi woman said to me as she touched my arm, “We’re all the same color under the skin. We’re all God’s Children.” Karl Melton Bio Karl was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1958, and spent his formative years in Florida, Barbados, Houston and Dallas. Karl loved to draw jets, ships and cartoon characters, and began winning school art competitions at the age of 10. A graduate of Texas Tech University, Karl’s career includes work as production artist, illustrator, art director and creative manager. He was inspired to take up oil painting in 2011 after meeting artist Michael Hurd in Ruidoso, NM. Although Karl had become accomplished using graphite and colored pencil, oil paint had always “intimidated” him. With excellent direction and guidance from artist and teacher Bonny Leibowitz, Karl found his passion for oil. He and his wife, Suzanne, currently live just outside Dallas in Murphy, Texas.