RISINGS draws inspiration from L. A. Melnychuk's exploration of her childhood memories and the waking dreams of the sub-conscious. Melnychuk first applies clear wax to her watercolour underpainting, allowing the base-image to come through with some distortion. She then scores into the wax with an etching needle and pushes layers of dry pigment into the markings. Her technique plays with the boundaries of spatial interaction and creates movement that comes through the surface, allowing images to deconstruct into memory fragments while still present as whole thoughts. The medium of encaustics enables Melnychuk a physicality and an intimacy with her art, not unlike when people carve their initials on an object or a place they want to claim as their own. For Melnychuk, her creations are imprints of existence, memories, and dreams.

L. A. Melnychuk graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in Design and Political Science. After working as a graphic artist and becoming involved in film and performance art, she obtained her BFA in Drawing from the Alberta College of Art and Design. She completed her final year as a visiting student at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. She is now based in Vancouver where she paints full-time.