Melissa West, Printmaker
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mswest-art.bsky.social
Melissa West, Printmaker
@mswest-art.bsky.social
970 followers 400 following 320 posts
Art with opinion and a quirky sense of humor. Also, cats.
Etsy shop: mswest.etsy.com
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mswest-art.bsky.social
Kings Mountain Art Fair takes place all 3 days of Labor Day werkend. I'll be in booth 129 with a ton of prints, both new ones hot off the press and old favorites. 10am - 5pm each day. Come early for breakfast -- the Cook Shack opens at 8am.
A linoleum block print depicting a happy tuxedo cat flying in the sky among catnip mice, cat treats, and the Milky Way (made of real milk). The text reads: Melissa West, Kings Mountain Art Fair, Labor Day Weekend, August 30 & 31 and September 1, 2025
August 25, 2025 at 7:23 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Two men beat each other with cudgels. The caption reads "Will it ever end?" A blue and black linoleum block print, based on one of Goya's black paintings.
June 22, 2025 at 5:36 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Approximately 1,600 people showed up at the Watsonville plaza for No Kings day. So much energy and love -- and cars honking!
June 15, 2025 at 12:14 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
The banner is up! Hers, His, Theirs, Ours: Queer Expression! opens on May 28, with a gala reception on June 8. It's at Pajaro Valley Arts, 37 Sudden Street in Watsonville.
Melissa stands on the front porch of Pajaro Valley Arts, holding her hands up to point at a large banner advertising the art show "Hers, His, Theirs, Our: Queer Expression!" The banner features a painting of a bearded man wearing a crown of flowers, by artist Paul Richmond.
May 23, 2025 at 7:23 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Opening May 28, "Hers, His, Theirs, Ours: Queer Expession!" at Pajaro Valley Arts in Watsonville CA. Xinistra Gl'Amour and I are the curators, and it is a fabulous exhibit. Opening reception is June 8, complete with drag performances.
A colorful painting of a man wearing a crown of flowers; he has an ambiguous expression, perhaps wistful. It is the front of a postcard, and says "Hers, His, Theirs, Ours: Queer Expression!", May 28- July 13, 2025 Location: PVA Gallery, 37 Sudden Street, Watsonville. Wednesday - Sunday, 11am - 4pm. The back of the postcard, with a long list of events. It's a lot to type! Here is the link to the html version. https://pvarts.org/queer-expression/
May 18, 2025 at 3:09 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
A little bit of Wednesday beauty.
A lovely pink rosebud.
May 8, 2025 at 4:29 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Today was Print Day in May. So I did all sorts of print-y stuff.
Melissa holds a print in front of her face. The image is of cats sailing an old-fashioned sailing ship while sea monsters cavorting among the waves. One of the cats is playing a vihuela. A hand is holding up an incomplete print of a skull acting as a flowerpot. The colors so far are green and periwinkle. The inked block is in the background. Ai incomplete print of a rabbit on a suburban street at night, under a full moon. The colors are mostly blues and lavenders. A stack of papers fitted with plastic tabs atop an L-shaped jig set up with Ternes-Burton pins. A linoleum block with a preparatory drawing sits on top of this pile.
May 4, 2025 at 2:46 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
The irises are still blooming, but now the roses are taking center stage.
#bloomscrolling #flowerreport
Two large old fashioned roses in the foreground, a soft peach to yellow color, and one bud in the background. Dozens of red roses on a large rosebush. White snowball flowers on the verbena shrub (tree?) in the background. Two red rosebuds against a background of green leaves. Clusters of deep dusty red roses against a wall. There are also two irises in the picture, plus another rosebush.
May 2, 2025 at 6:24 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Big project finished, installed, and celebrated!
My Santa Cruz Pride utility box wrap was installed this morning, just in time for the unveiling ceremony. There are 10 boxes throughout the city of Santa Cruz, celebrating 50 years of our local LGBTQ+ Pride parade and festival.
A utility box decorated with a colorful image: a rainbow-striped sky over a hand holding a compass leading to a beach with a natural rock arch. The side of the box has a furling banner that reads " Fifty Years of Pride." The back side of the utility box still has the rainbow striped sky. Centered is a portrait of two women wearing identical Hawaiian shirts, their heads tilted together and one's hand on the other's shoulder. The banner below reads "Jo Kenny & Gloria Nieto." They are long-time local activists. Melissa and Jo Kenny stand side by side in front of the traffic box with Jo's likeness. The colorful utility box seen from across the street. It is eye-catching!
April 29, 2025 at 3:10 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Some flowers from our garden for Earth Day.
Two maroon and yellow irises in front of a rosebush full of deep red flowers. An iris photographed in mid bloom -- no longer a bud, not yet a full flower. It is a soft maroon color. A rose, in color peach blending towards a yellow (ish) center. A lavender iris, sprinkled with raindrops.
April 23, 2025 at 3:24 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
I'll be at the Bay Area Printers' Fair & Wayzgoose this Saturday, 10am - 3pm. It's an extravaganza of printmaking, letterpress, book arts, ephemera and anything else related to ink and paper. At the San Jose Printers Guild, History Park, San Jose.
Melissa smiles as she holds three small prints. Behind her is a drying rack full of recently pulled prints. A letterpress poster that reads: Tenth Annual Bay Area Printers' Fair & Wayzgoose; April 26 2025; 635 Phelan Ave, San Jose, 10am-3pm; Read more: sjprintersguild.com; Sponsored by the San Jose Printers' Guild and History San Jose; Visit dozens of exhibitors & demos; Find handcrafted goods & supplies.
April 22, 2025 at 9:34 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Charlie and Salty hoping to catch the wicked blade of grass.
Two cats sitting in a garden look up. One is an orange tabby, the other is a tuxedo cat.
April 21, 2025 at 1:19 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Tax forms ready to go in the mail.
The backs of two large manila envelopes, sealed with stickers. On one, a pink Planned Parenthood sticker that reads WE WON'T GO BACK. On the other, two stickers. The first is an abstract stylized image of Trump's head, with the words "Don't let the infection spread. STD - stop the Donald." The second stickers is a smaller Planned Parenthood message: I STAND WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
April 15, 2025 at 5:53 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Current mood.
A linoleum block print of a stack of skulls in an ossuary. A word balloon comes from the skulls and says "It's all good."
April 14, 2025 at 7:09 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Hooray, I've finished my three Beautiful Souls portraits of people killed by anti-LGBTQ+ violence. They will make their public debut at "Hers, His, Theirs, Ours: Queer Expression!" at the Pajaro Valley Arts Gallery in Watsonville, May 28 - July 13.
A young person in a black Hoodia, cuddling a kitten to their neck. They wear eyeglasses, and their hair is falling over their face. Flames rise up from the bottom, full of hateful words. Their name, Nex Benedict, is inscribed at the bottom. A person looks at the viewer with a faint smile. There is a halo behind her head, made to look like a hand woven basket. Her body is made of a shooting range target, and the bullet holes that appear across her body appear in gold, and the background is also gold, like an icon. The name inscribed is Kassim Omar, who was a Black trans woman. A man wears a white ringer t-shirt, with the phrase " I ❤️ SF" One hand points at this saying, and his other hand is raised in a peace sign, or benediction. His halo is the flash pan of a camera, or perhaps a disco ball. The bullet holes that span his body, painted on a shooting range target, shine gold. This is Harvey Milk, the San Francisco Supervisor who was murdered.
April 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
The flowers are flowering!
A close-up photo of a fancy lavender iris. A rose with petals fading from pink to yellow. A fancy iris with maroon petals and a yellow center. A tightly wound rose, deep red in color.
April 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Charlie and Salty say it's a good day for napping.
Two cats lying down together on a sleeping pad. The orange tabby is yawning hugely. The black and white tuxedo cat looks skeptically at the camera.
April 7, 2025 at 7:44 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Santa Cruz CA
A woman with a sign around her neck, standing in a garden. The sign shows an angry cat chewing on a drawn sign that reads "They're eating the checks! They're eating the balances!"
April 5, 2025 at 10:47 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Watsonville California says HANDS OFF!
Two women smiling and holding signs shaped like hands; the signs say "Hands Off our trans friends" and "Hands Off queer folks." A third sign rests on the ground. It says "our immigrants feed us. Melt ICE" A street scene with multiple people holding signs on both sides of a street; there are cars between them. The closest sign reads "Trump's plan: ready, fire, aim. Who gets hurt?" The distant signs show Musk giving the Nazi salute. Two smiling women holding signs. The signs say "Hands Off our future" and "Hands Off our schools." It is a beautiful sunny day. A woman in a star spangled cowboy hat holds a sign that says "Hands Off my everything."
April 5, 2025 at 10:35 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
People gathered outdoors, intently working on signs. A woman working on a hand-shaped sign. Her t-shirt reads "Imagine all the people living life in peace." A woman crouched down, working on a hand-shaped sign that says "Hands Off Our Democracy." A person leans over a table while working on an artistic sign that has images of trees and the words "Hands Off our parks."
April 5, 2025 at 4:38 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Sign builds on Thursday and Friday for today's Hands Off protests. See you on the streets! #handsoff
Supplies for making protest signs: paint, brushes, markers, paper towels, and pre-printed phrases including "Hands Off public lands" and "Hands Off schools!" People gathered indoors, two men in the foreground cutting cardboard. People gathered around a table, smiling and holding up signs such as "Hands Off Medicare" People gathered around a table, intently working on signs.
April 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Art! Share art!
Choose 20 or so paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings. Or any art, for that matter.

#25
#blueskyart #art #painting
Hung Liu, Annunciation
April 2, 2025 at 2:39 AM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Choose lots of paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings. Or maybe photographs. ;)

#24 (having fun looking at favorite art!)
#blueskyart #art #painting
Maynard Dixon, No Place to Go
March 31, 2025 at 3:08 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Seen today in California.
A Tesla charging station. Taped to it is a printed sign saying STOP THE NAZI COUP and with a picture of Musk giving the N*zi salute.
March 29, 2025 at 10:14 PM
mswest-art.bsky.social
Finally finished! I started this painting in 2018, after having served as a hospitaliera at Monasterio San Anton on the Camino de Santiago the previous summer.
But life and lack of painting space got in the way.
A painting on an easel, showing the ruins of a Spanish monastery under a mystic night sky. The view is from the inside, looking up through what would have been the roof. Painting detail: the bell tower of the monastery with the milky way behind it. Painting detail: the remnants of the rose window, with the bell tower and stars.
March 27, 2025 at 9:07 PM