Artwork 1 - Melissa Casanova.jpeg
Artwork 1 - Melissa Casanova.jpeg

Morir Soñando – Melissa Casanova

$4,800.00

Morir Soñando, named after the beloved Dominican drink of milk and orange, captures a moment suspended between work and rest. The figure stands beside a clothesline, arms full of bright oranges — as if she’s just decided to set the chores aside and savor something simple, something sweet.

The painting holds that quiet defiance — a choice to pause and find joy in the everyday. Layers of sun-warmed color and loose, expressive marks create a sense of movement stilled, like wind caught mid-breath. It’s a celebration of softness and strength, of honoring where you come from while making space to rest within it.

36” x 48” (unframed)
Oil & mixed media on canvas
2025 (Heritage Dreams series)

Morir Soñando, named after the beloved Dominican drink of milk and orange, captures a moment suspended between work and rest. The figure stands beside a clothesline, arms full of bright oranges — as if she’s just decided to set the chores aside and savor something simple, something sweet.

The painting holds that quiet defiance — a choice to pause and find joy in the everyday. Layers of sun-warmed color and loose, expressive marks create a sense of movement stilled, like wind caught mid-breath. It’s a celebration of softness and strength, of honoring where you come from while making space to rest within it.

36” x 48” (unframed)
Oil & mixed media on canvas
2025 (Heritage Dreams series)

Veil of Light – Melissa Casanova
Veil of Light – Melissa Casanova
$1,800.00
Stream Of Consciousness – Blythe King
Stream Of Consciousness – Blythe King
$2,900.00

Melissa Casanova – Oil Painting

Melissa Casanova is a Dominican-American painter based in Richmond, Virginia. Her work explores the intersection of heritage, memory, and imagination—blending abstraction and realism to create vibrant spaces where emotion and story intertwine. Through layered textures, luminous color, and expressive brushwork, she captures the invisible threads that connect us to our origins, dreams, and inner landscapes.

Melissa’s creative process often begins with intuitive mark-making and evolves through rhythm, movement, and reflection. Each piece serves as both mirror and meditation—a moment of stillness within motion.

Her collections, including Heritage Dreams and Awakening, have been exhibited and continue to evolve in dialogue with her travels and cultural roots. Casanova donates a portion of every sale to support access to vision and hearing care through her work with the Virginia Eye Institute Foundation.

When she’s not painting, she can be found exploring galleries, collaborating with local artists, or experimenting with new mediums that bridge the tactile and emotional.

ARTIST STATEMENT
In my work, stillness is not the absence of motion—it’s the moment where emotion, color, and memory meet in quiet conversation. My paintings explore that balance between energy and ease, layering movement with reflection to capture what rests beneath the surface. In each collection, I lean into intuition, allowing rhythm and flow to guide each stroke. The result is both vibrant and meditative—a visual pause that reminds us rest can also be radiant, that even in stillness, life continues to pulse and expand.

@melissacasanovaart