After a strange and dismal year, this Memorial Day weekend aims to revitalize the region with the sounds, smells and scenes of summer. Enter artist Melissa Hood, who is brightening up the world with vibrant and whimsical renderings, lately influenced by her coastal community.

Hood has lived her whole life in Point Pleasant, continually inspired by her environment to dabble.

“I took art my sophomore year of high school so I would be in the same class as a boy I liked,” she said, laughing.