Beth Melillo

The following blog was written by Beth Melillo including parts of an interview with her father, OPA member John Louis Melillo.

Disabled Vietnam Veteran/Contemporary Realistic Oil Painter, John Melillo teaches other Veteran’s to paint inside the Beyond Van Gogh Immersive Experience.

Strength, Honor, Hope, and Courage is an oil painting from my father’s “Life Goes On Part 2” series from this past Veteran’s Day Solo exhibition that describes his story best! I’m honored each day by his strength and endurance as he strives by using art to continue to heal from PTSD. Together we have created an art journey of oil paintings plus video content (I’m a tv producer) that we have shared with the world to build awareness on the healing power of art! 

We wanted to share with you my father’s art story. This inspiring event was held literally inside the Van Gogh Immersive Experience Long Island where he taught 10 veterans to paint and explore the power of art! I took photos and produced a video we will share with you to feel as if you were there. 

JOHN: “After retiring from a 45 year NYC business pace about 7 years ago, I didn’t realize that this was masking some of the things I had experienced in Vietnam. Now I was having not only nightmares but daymares (flashbacks). I went to the VA for help. Besides all the counseling programs I participated in, they gave me a Vocational Aptitude Test. I scored in the top 1% on creative arts, though I never did anything artistic before. With their help, I enrolled in oil painting art courses at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, NY Academy of Arts, The Met, and The Art League of NY. I also received Business Certificates from Sotheby’s and Christies. In learning to create through art, this gift from God became a “3^rd Act in My Life” – a Rebirth. I found a solace and source of healing to deal with my PTSD infirmity.”

My father and I were so excited when the “Beyond Van Gogh: Immersive Experience” was coming to Long Island so that he could experience it.  We had the great opportunity to attend the press pre-opening and my father had the distinguished honor to do a personal walk through with Fanny Curtat, Art History Consultant of “Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience”. 

JOHN: “I am a huge Van Gogh fan. You know when you hear the word Impressionist you think of Renoir, Manet, Monet, Seurat, etc. Cubism brings Picasso and Dali to mind. However, there is only ONE style of painting when you see it, you say ‘That’s a Van Gogh’. Fanny Curtat, who curated the Immersive Event, provided a great deal of knowledge and history about him. As we walked through the exhibit, her behind the scenes insights in creating it, brought me closer to this Master. It helped me appreciate Van Gogh, the man, as well as his 300 pieces of art on display.”

Following this incredibly inspiring preview on the day before opening to the public, the ”Beyond Van Gogh: Immersive Experience” team embraced my father as a Vietnam veteran surviving PTSD through art. We came up with an art workshop idea to have my father teach other Veterans to paint literally inside the “Beyond Van Gogh Immersive Experience” room where Van Gogh’s experience was inspiring all around them. We reached out to 10 Veterans from my father’s network who all had inspiring initiatives to come paint and enjoy the experience. 

JOHN: “Working with other disabled veterans in this atmosphere really gave me a true sense of worth. Helping other veterans dealing with their efforts to create was a great inspiration for me as well as additional healing for all of us.

 I felt Van Gogh was dealing with dark issues (not unlike PTSD) in his life trying to head Towards the Light with his unique style, brush strokes, and complementary colors. Working with veterans in the actual Immersive Event added inspiration for all of us. In our class we started with a black canvas and built a bright forest. I showed my class how we could go in additional positive directions from there. The response was overwhelming for all of us, I felt.”

The experience my father and I shared with other Veterans that day under the home of the “Beyond Van Gogh Immersive Experience Long Island” was a unique healing opportunity.

JOHN: “My message and take away is GLOBAL. Everyone has their Vietnams, be it a death in the family, a bad relationship, an illness, an accident, etc. How we deal with it tends to define us.

PTSD is not something that heals. It is something you learn to live and survive with. I suggest you do something GOOD for yourself. Find something that gives you pleasure. If you like to sing, join a choir: read, join a book club: dance, take lessons, and so on. Immerse yourself in something that gives you a sense of accomplishment and you’ll find a path to solace. My (AH HA) moment was learning how to oil paint. Thank you, Lord.”

I’m thankful to share this experience with my father as art continues to heal him in so many creative ways! 

www.artfeelingsjm.com

Instagram @artfeelingsjm

“Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience LI” take the exclusive tour with John Melillo and Fanny Curtat”

This is a story about my father, John Melillo, a retired Vietnam Combat Veteran surviving and coping with severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through art.

The Vietnam War was a very traumatic experience for my father. After retiring, he began to experience extreme PTSD. When it became overwhelming, he turned to painting and drawing for solace. His journey started with painting from photos he took while on tour in Vietnam. He found a great deal of healing in creating art from the pictures he took in a far-away land, a long time ago. 

The clinical term for what my father is doing is “Prolonged Exposure”.  The objective is to gradually approach trauma-related memories and feelings and learn that they are not dangerous, or need to be avoided.  The longer he faces the source of his trauma head on, the less traumatic it becomes. Focusing on creating colors, shapes, lights and darks, gives him a new world of positive experience. In addition, he is finding that he has a creative ability, and he calls this stage of his life a “rebirth” and his “third act”.  

John Melillo’s Vietnam Journey is reflected in his 7-part oil painting series called “Life Goes On”. 

He would like to share the stories behind two of his paintings from this series. The first, is “In Remembrance of Chris”:

“Chris was from Texas. He was 19 years old with a wife and kid. I broke him into his duties in country. One day in formation, the desk sergeant was sick so they asked who was senior man to take his place. I was, but you’d rather be on patrol instead of handling everyone’s complaints and the radio. Chris took my place on that patrol. It took about 4 minutes for me to get down to the police station. The first call that came in was that Chris was killed in action.  I painted “In Remembrance of Chris” from a black and white photograph of the patrol Chris would have been on that day. It was a patrol that we all took. Because of the nature and situation, I decided to paint it in black and white. I chose wood as a medium, simply because I felt it represented the style and mood I wanted to paint. So, I painted this picture to share with the world and remember Chris.” 

John would also like to share the story behind “The Caretaker”. 

“In extreme situations like Vietnam, you have casualties. But on a lighter side, daily life must still go on. I found this woman. We called her The Caretaker. She stepped up, did a wonderful thing and took in orphans that lost their parents on both sides of the War. This is a Vietnamese orphanage out in the jungle that didn’t get much traffic. As you can see, the kids are smiling, well fed, and dressed. This woman made life for them meaningful. It struck me as amazing and I wanted to immortalize her and that situation. Even though it was extreme, life was still going on there in a very unique way.” 

In addition to painting images from his Vietnam experience, John has turned to subject matter from his Eastern Long Island upbringing, as well as all the activities he enjoys there today. 

“Discovering the wonder and beauty of Long Island now as I did when I was young is amazing. I feel almost EUPHORIC seeing those images translate into paintings.

I have found so much additional healing not just painting my family heritage, but what I experience today as I revisit those memories. What is important is the fact that I am still an active Eastern Long Island participant. I am an avid fisherman twelve months of the year with my daughter, sailing at daybreak and nighttime on all of Long Island’s open waterways. We also visit farm stands, vineyards, beaches, pine barren parks, and travel the North and South Forks. These adventures provide a wealth of material to paint. My paintings are a reflection of my journeys: through Southampton, Shinnecock, Hampton Bays, Sagaponack, Sag Harbor, North Sea, North Fork Gold Coast, Mattituck, Orient Point, Montauk, Riverhead, Moriches Inlet, Center Moriches, etc.” 

“What a wonderful way to appreciate the beauty of Long Island. To be on a boat at dawn and see the many unique sunrises. You can even catch sight of a whale. Dolphins and seals playing, turtle’s coming to lay their eggs, Sunfish and various large sharks are common occurrences.”

There is no greater reward than to experience this art journey with my father and see him continue to heal.  

Thank you to all the soldiers past and present, you are a continued inspiration.

John’s Instagram @artfeelingsjm / www.artfeelingsjm.com

We are grateful for all your interest and support.

As Memorial Day approaches, we wanted to take the time to honor all Veterans and celebrate the experience of art that has become a solace and rewarding experience to many Veterans today. Especially oil painting…

John Melillo, a disabled Vietnam Veteran is proud to have served his country. Today, John has joined OPA to share his passion and experience with oil painting.

In early 1970, John was drafted and found himself in Vietnam with the Army. He was stationed in Long Binh, the largest military installation in the country and was assigned to a Combat Military Police Unit where after a month became Patrol Supervisor. They were first call responders to any situation that would occur in a war zone from civil to combat involving 26,000 GIs and over 60,000 Vietnamese. He was front line commander of 26 MPs (12 on gates,12 on patrol, plus 2 dog units) working 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week, rotating 6 weeks days then 6 weeks nights with very few days off.)

John states, “Everyday was an eye opening Experience to say the least.

Today, I find a great deal of solace in painting some of the things I captured on film and making them a reality. It also gave me a great deal of accomplishment and reflection in the process.

These images reflect some of the history and point of view of the culture and life I witnessed in Vietnam.”

John was always interested in art but never had time to pursue it until his retirement in 2015.

He started auditing art classes (Suffolk Community College) and attended oil painting classes at the Southampton Cultural Center, Art League of L.I., SVA, The NY Academy of Art, Christies, Sotheby’s and frequent visits to various museums, art shows and galleries in NYC which all helped John find his style of interest.

 “Oil Painting is my passion. When painting I look to make it real by pushing back and bringing things forward that I want to emphasize. It gives a painting real life when done properly. It’s all about form and lights vs darks.”

“In the final analysis, I’ve learned you have to feel your passion and act boldly. Do not be afraid of failure because painting is a very humbling experience no matter who you are and what level you’re at.”  

Look! Everyone has their Vietnams- (I don’t care who you are). As a way of dealing with mine, I will continue through the programs available to me and of course, continue the very therapeutic process of creative art.” Says John.

Please stay tuned to see more on Instagram @artfeelingsjm for the “Life Goes On…” Vietnam Art Series by John of his original photos and experience.

Press Contact: Art Feelings
Beth Melillo
bethmproductions@gmail.com
917 414 7452
Instagram: @artfeelingsjm

CourtesyArt Credits – All Rights Reserved – JM @Artfeelingsjm