Beside painting, photography, poetry and fashion design Melissa also runs a magazine, health site and contemporary site as list below:
MLoveizm Magazine-A magazine that features all genres of art
A health site for the mind, body and spirit.
A visual vacation in coastal living art.
Melissa J. Leslie was born of Stephen and Julieta Leslie with two older brothers Bryan and Brad in Louisville, Indiana. They are the first generation from her mother’s side from the Philippines. Her father was born and raised in the mid-west. There he met her mother in
a church where they later married.
They grew up as a middle class family but, set apart from the masses, they didn’t watch t.v. like most families did. Her parents and grandparents always gave them gifts and toys which had some type of goal to achieve by putting pieces together to build a final product or
art. At an early age her grandfather always gave her charcoal and paper along with old comic books that showed different faces and poses in which she soaked in all the visual information like a sponge.
She became so fascinated by her mother not only because she was her mother but because of how she stood out around her surroundings. She would become inspired watching her mother’s long black hair almost touch the floor as she cooked meals from scratch. As she grew older she noticed her mother was different from the neighbors in that she was of another culture. She often asked of her mother’s past upbringing only to find this peaceful woman had a pretty tough upbringing. She never really brought it up on her own and when asked was never resentful or angered in which most would be. Going through the stories in her mind, Leslie found the reason her spirit was at peace even though they would receive countless stares at public stores. People literally stopped what they were doing in silence just to watch them pass. She often wondered if it was the beauty of her mother they would be awed by or if it was their color as they looked at both of them. Leslie’s experience in the Mid-West ignited her enough to where she would one day depart Indiana and move to the West coast. Her mother would continue to inspire her by the way she lived.
Even at times young Leslie couldn’t live up to her spiritual accomplishments like smiling with pure kindness at the face of others hate. Those were the things Leslie wished to attain more than the riches of the world.
She attended Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Indiana where a lot of mischief went on as well as levels climbed on the art technique ladder. As if being stuck in a place where art wasn’t appreciated wasn’t enough, after graduating she then went on to Vincennes University, where she studied computer graphics. This stagnant time of remaining in the flat lands and not creating to her fullest potential lead her over the edge and her urge to move grew stronger by the day.
She had to go where her heart was screaming at her to go. After arriving in San Francisco she could finally exhale and knew it was a place where she could fit in and grow in her artistic endeavors. She attended the Academy of Art University knowing the only reason she went there was to be in San Francisco and have a school loan to back her living. Art school to her was a big scam and believes it doesn’t take a paper to say how great you are rather a body of work that
speaks for itself.
Her passion for reggae music began to grow and her spirit was calling her back from being submerged in the concrete jungle party life. She had been too busy catching up with the city that she had abandoned her first love, art. The hole in her heart sucked the life out of her and she reached for her heavenly Father to pull her back into what He needed her to be. There she found the embers that were once blazing fires of passion to create. She picked up the brush and threw herself onto the canvas. There in her one bedroom apartment on California street, “City of Hendrix” came to life. Four more musical artists were born on canvas as the paint seemed to flow out of her fingertips immediately after. Soon after, Club Six would be the first place she showed in the city.
Her goals are met daily now that she has embraced her gifts and tuned her spirit and into the word. She continues to move forward in her journey to make her clothing line MLove Couture a success as well as pursue the visions in her 
mind as an artist. She looks forward to having her line in boutiques and possibly some mainstream shops. As far as her art, she would like to open her own gallery in the near future that will also house her clothing line.
She is constantly being asked to show in galleries across the west coast and getting more publicity across the web and in print.
She has been told by fans how much her work has inspired them as well as evoked thoughts that take them back in time or touch on issues with the environment or politics. She hopes to touch others for the kingdom of heaven and hope she can shed light in dark places.
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