Madam Melva

Artist Statement

I think it's vital that individuals or groups who are visually creative (regardless of medium or subject matter) get the attention, love, and support they deserve, especially now. Unlike most other countries, the United States seems to care solely about profit (the bottom line) and for too long, it has slowly stifled our passion for the aesthetic arts in order to keep it from flourishing. For quite a long time, artists who draw, paint or use Photoshop are on the bottom of an invisible food chain; we are repeatedly discouraged and told that what we do is a nice hobby, but not a career or a way to get ahead. What we Americans need desperately (at least in my opinion) is a 21st century Renaissance, so that patrons and employers everywhere will not only recognize the merits of artistic expression and creativity, but will also know exactly what TO DO with it. Also, AI ART needs to be banned immediately, because the instant gratification it brings to viewers makes it as addictive as any narcotic while erasing the human artist altogether.

Biography

Pamela Torres is a happily married emerging artist living in New Port Richey, Florida and is formerly from New Jersey. A Monmouth University graduate, Pam has participated in various shows in Carrollwood, Spring Hill, Tampa and St. Petersburg. Rather than paint, she developed a knack for creating eye-popping images with marker, soft pastel and colored pencil. On October 2023, she had an online interview with Bold Journey. This was when Pam began competing online. She was selected as a finalist in two Women in Art contests, "Wild and Free" hosted by the Blue Space Gallery, and two Art-Collide shows themed "Life, Death & Love" and "Beautiful | Grotesque." Wanting October to be her month of the year, Pam entered and got accepted into two Halloween-themed virtual exhibitions presented by Up Art Incubator and the Pearview Gallery. One of her stylized portraits won a spot in CURE® 's 2024 Healing Through Hues Calendar, a collection of randomly chosen artworks dedicated to spreading cancer awareness.

In January 2024, Pam was interviewed by CanvasRebel and debuted on Influx Gallery's Perpetual Exhibition (earning a Certificate of Achievement). She also earned Special Recognition on Light Space & Time's 13th "All Women" show, where 720 artists from all over the world competed. She was then selected as a finalist in both Blue Space Gallery's "Passions" contest and Art-Collide's "Open Themed" online display. Then in February, Pam got special recognition in the painting and drawing category in Light, Space and Time's "Botanicals" online exhibition. That same month, three of her four erotic lava lamp pieces were posted on Pearview Gallery's "Steamiest Valentine" show. Later in the summer, for the first time, Pam entered the 100 Women Artists show in Dunedin with her tribute to Lee Bontecou (the event was featured on Fox News). In July, Pam was picked as a finalist in Fusion Art's 7th Annual Women Artists exhibition and then she had one of her artworks accepted and posted on the Penn Journal of Arts and Sciences website.

Currently, several of her best artworks and prints are available for purchase at The Funk, a local arts and craft store/tattoo parlor located in Tarpon Springs, Florida. She also won 3rd Place twice on RTA (Respect the Artists) Enterprises' online competition.

Pamela's art has been published in the following:
ArtistCloseup magazine (#10, released on September 2023)
Labyrinth Magazine (March 2024)
Visual Art Journal (#6, released on September 2024)

Exhibition History (CV)