"Melanie is a weak, disturbed individual so consumed by her current dysfunctional relationship she presently has no time for art. But I know she thinks about it a lot."
-- artist's sister

"Oh! Her painting of me was in a magazine. I'm a celebrity!"
-- another sister of the artist

"I think my mom is the best and someone, if they want a really nice picture, should get it from her."
-- Cassie Keyes

"Actually, the pieces just sort of create themselves."
- - the artist about her work

"It's hard to predict what kind of state my wife is going to be in at any given time. Right now she's working on some sort of project about something. She should get a job."
-- ex husband of the artist - emotional age 10

"Melanie, first born, first loved - a perfect baby, exquisite as a rose bud, mystical, metaphysical, and artistic -- a bohemian forced to be realistic."
-- mother of the artist

"Melanie loves to study books about my life and my work."
-- artist Nicolai Fechin

"She likes me better."
-- John Singer Sargent

"Innovative in thought, organized in action, media versatility."
-- the artist's resume, circa 19-something

"When did they raise the price of puce?"
"This requires far too many decisions."
"Call Cathy and go have a beer."
-- a committee in the artist's head

"For Melanie Gwendahlin Keyes, a painting is more than just a pretty picture. She sees ... emotional involvement as a fair price to pay for exploring an idea in depth, the goal that's common to all her work."
-- Tom Zeit, Associate Editor, The Artist's Magazine

"She's a loose woman, laying down color with complete abandon, wet, teasing playfully, sometimes forcefully, brushstroking the surface, building, coaxing, painting, bringing the canvas to life, relinquished to pleasure until the impulse bring completion, an experience as natural as ..."
-- one of the artist's oil paintings (anonymity requested)

"As a collector of Ms. Keyes' art, I can assure that it affects people. In addition to technical skill, she has a sense for display and context, and has evoked gulps to out-loud laughter from me with her work."
-- Gaar Potter, CPA

"As a CPA to Ms. Keyes, I can assure you she has evoked gulps to out-loud laughter from me with her use of green."
-- Gaar Potter, Art Collector

"Unnerving. Enigmatic. Visually stimulating. Intellectually Provocative. Oh, I thought you wanted me to describe the artist."
-- withheld