Life and Work with Mel CK

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mel CK.

Mel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My family moved to America from Panama when I was very little. After my father passed away when I was seven years old, my way of communication was through art. I was mute for a while. When I became 15, I started spray painting. It was bombing or tagging as people call it, and then it gradually turned into illustration later on because of friends. My memories of the ghettos of Panama where my mother grew up stuck vividly. The bright colors, and small alleys, with animals roaming free influences my perspective today in my work. When I moved to Denver from Colorado Springs in 2012, I wasn’t able to be a professional muralist and illustrator until 2017.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It wasn’t always smooth. If anything it was always more difficult being a woman. Personally, I took that as a challenge. Male dominance on the streets is prevalent. I learned from them. But that wasn’t my personal goal. Every day I work harder and harder on my skills to learn the art. Gaining respect means a lot from others, but for myself, it’s a lot more meaningful. However, even with many years of practice, I still have to work twice as hard being a woman. Most of the time it feels like I’m being judged twice as much. I can’t really do much about that but keep my head up. On the other side, it’s nice to see in the past four years a female presence in the art world, it’s being recognized by not just one, but by a beautiful amount of women expressing who they are and what they see. My only difficulty now…is competing against artists who didn’t work for it. Please, practice the craft. Always strive to be skilled. Don’t strive just because you are a woman but because you are more than just that. My advice? Gain respect for yourself first. Nothing can strike you down after that.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a hybrid. Muralist illustrator. I tell an interpretive story through…mostly animal humanoids. It’s symbolism. Because we are all animals honestly. The way you look at what it is, it’s up to you. I would be proud if I made you think about what it could be about. Because I feel that imagination is important. And like I said, we are all animals, what we interpret and interests you is what makes you special. What I’m focusing on now is… just trying to get out of state work to share my love of animals and plant life with different communities.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
I’m a loaded sponge. I soak up almost anything being an artist. To be concrete I do listen to podcasts when I come home from work to draw. My two favorites are Your Mom’s House Podcast with Christina P. and Tom Segura. I have a sick sense of humor. Also, H3 podcast. To keep things slightly lighter. With books, I’m stuck on Rory Power’s “Wilder Girls”. It’s graphic and absolutely miraculous with wildlife gore nightmares. When it’s music night, I just bump anything that hits right.

Contact Info:

• Website: mel-ck.com
• Phone: 7196416747
• Email: melkart43@gmail.com
• Instagram: mel_ck_og

Image Credit:
Color Con pictures curtesy of Sparkles @sparklespositron

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