After completing a degree in Illustration at Exeter College of Art and Design, Melvyn studied at Goldsmiths College and took drawing classes at the Royal College of Art. He has been a professional artist, printmaker and illustrator since 1992. His work has been widely exhibited including at the Royal Academy, Royal College of Art and Somerset House and in galleries in London and the South East.

In his work Melvyn explores the aural traditions, the allegory and folklore surrounding the British landscape. He is fascinated by this sense of prehistory, the way it surfaces in old place names for instance. His inspiration comes from the colour and form in the natural world, the contour of clouds or texture of bark and Melvyn is particularly interested in combining and taking these elements to the point at which the figurative meets the abstract.

Sketching helps him to refine ideas and leads to a composition, a larger, worked into drawing is the basis of his print. The marks on this help him to define how the print will be broken up into different colours and subsequently printed, each from a separate lino block.