Melissa Twentey Gryder lives and works in Annapolis, Maryland. She received her BFA in 1999 from Frostburg State University. She went on to continue study at Oxford University and University of North Florida. She spent over a decade studying portraiture and color extensively with Cedric Egeli, John Ebersberger and at the Cape School of Art in Provincetown, MA. She has taught painting and portrait drawing at Maryland Hall in Annapolis for many years. She has been featured in national juried exhibitions and museum shows throughout the United States. Her works are included in collections in the United States, Japan & England. She is currently the President of the Maryland Society of Portrait Painters, of which she has served on the board for the past 12 years.