Darlene Mellein is a native California painter living in the San Fernando Valley. An intuitive artist, she paints in various media, and often includes elements of collage in her work. She approaches a blank canvas with an abandon and boldness that convey humor, freedom and imagination. Her graduate work in Literature at UCLA focused on Women’s, African American and Chicano literature—the disenfranchised. Today, she traces the roots of her paintings to that earlier work, her inspiration coming from the underlying stories of various cultures, their triumphs as well as alienation, along with their colors and symbols. There is a narrative quality to her work, which she describes as Alternative Social Realism.

An award-winning artist, Darlene’s work can be found in collections in the United States, Canada and Europe.

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