As a sophomore in High School, Melinda's art teacher introduced her to watercolors. She became so comfortable with this medium that by senior year she took first place in the All High School Art Show, which included four other schools. Although Melinda took lots of art in school, the teachers never taught her how to paint. In fact, she'd never seen anyone paint in the tight dry brush style that she uses now until years later.

When Melinda started to take her art seriously, she began donating original paintings to annual fundraisers for the hospital and the local Rotary club. She remembers being shocked when one of the paintings was purchased for $4,400. It was around this time that Melinda was invited to participate in "Studies in Watercolor", a four artist show at the Lancaster Museum and Art Gallery. It was the first show of it's kind at this museum (devoted only to watercolor) and she was honored to be the only local artist asked to participate.