Mel Odom

American Artist Odom was born September 2, 1950 in Richmond, Virginia, and grew up in the town of Ahoskie, North Carolina. In 1972, Odom earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in Fashion Illustration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Following graduation, Odom studied in the graphics department of Leeds Polytechnic Institute in England for a school year, before moving to London. Odom moved to New York, New York, in 1975. His work appeared in a wide variety of magazines, such as "Time", "Omni", "New York Times magazine", "Rolling Stone", and "Blue Boy". He was also a regular contributor to "Playboy". His illustrations earned him multiple awards from The Society of Illustrators and other graphics and illustration organizations. Odom's style spread internationally through book covers for major publishers, a line of Paper Moon cards and posters that ultimately triggered the publishing of his first book, "First Eyes", in Japan in 1982. Two years later, a re-edited book of his work, "Dreamer" was published by Viking-Penguin, featuring a forward by Edmund White. Odom also worked on art projects, including limited edition lithographs for publisher Eleanor Ettinger and three-dimensional masks. In 1991 Odom channeled his passion for dolls into his own design, Gene Marshall, a sultry movie star doll from the film noir 1940s era. After several years of private development, Gene Marshall was licensed and manufactured by Ashton-Drake Galleries and introduced at the 1995 Toy Fair. She was voted by collectors the most important doll since Barbie. In 1999, Hyperion Press commissioned Odom to write and illustrate Gene Marshall’s biography. "Gene Marshall, Girl Star" was published in 2000 and established Gene as a three-dimensional character, complete with family tragedy and a rival, Madra Lord. Miss Lord became the second doll in a line that eventually grew to include seven characters. In 2006, the license for Gene was transferred into the hands of Integrity Toys where Gene flourished until 2010. Upon Gene’s 15th year in the doll market she “retired” in order to allow Odom the time to focus on other projects. Also in 2006, Odom renewed his work with Secrets Garden, a series of human-scaled oil portraits of mostly Civil War era dolls, refocusing his interest from the business of dolls back to their aesthetics. These paintings are his first two-dimensional work not related to Miss Marshall since the mid-1990s.