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Melissa Paints

@melissavandiver.bsky.social

1.3K followers 1.4K following 6.9K posts

Melissa Vandiver (she/her), artist & illustrator in New Orleans. Board member New Orleans Women and Children's Shelter. Noted loudmouth. Follow my art account for art and less loudmouth: @mvandiverart.bsky.social https://linktr.ee/mvandiverart

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 25d

Would love it if y'all followed my art page and shared my posts from there!

Melissa Vandiver Art @mvandiverart.bsky.social · 26d

Here's a thread of the art I spend most of my time on: themed pet portraits. They are all commissions, and I love collaborating with pet weirdos to portray these lil guys. I have done around 250 of these and they are each different. If you ever wonder what I'm working on, it's probably one of these.

Painting of a cat in an astronaut's space suit, standing on the moon, with an American flag and dark space behind. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver..#petportraits #art #neworleans #cats #cat #catsky #catsofbluesky #space #moon

Painting of a furry black, white, and brown dog, wearing a giraffe costume, on a black and white giraffe print background. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver.#petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky #giraffe #giraffes

Painting of a brown dog in the crow's nest of an old-fashioned ship, with another mast and crow's nest in the distance behind. Background is blue sea and sky. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver. #petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky

Painting of a furry white dog in a leather jacket, against a background of a brick wall with graffiti. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver.. #petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky

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damned soul-o-man @dansolomon.com · 29m

one of the most self-destructive beliefs people in political movements often hold is that people on the other side of things could not possibly hold actual conviction or be as determined and sincere in their motives as they, The Good Guys, are

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h

Sean Duffy: "The No Kings protest, Maria, really frustrating. This is part of antifa, paid protesters. It begs the question who's funding it."

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 9m

All the way down to the base supporters. They receive their beliefs from elsewhere so they assume we do too, instead of just having our own values and instincts. I assume this is because they are trained through religious indoctrination to ignore their eyes and ears and believe an authority

Micah @rincewind.run · 1h

a foundational belief of the modern right is that there is no such thing as organic disagreement with their policies, it’s all directed from the top down

they just can’t conceive that ordinary people find them horrifying

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h

Sean Duffy: "The No Kings protest, Maria, really frustrating. This is part of antifa, paid protesters. It begs the question who's funding it."

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 9h

New Orleans, we need to observe what these other cities are doing to prepare for when this ramps up here

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 14h

My latest is the story of how my community has rallied to protect and defend our neighbors in recent days, as ICE has targeted the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. "This is not a story about a moment of victory, but a moment of being reminded of our power."

They Came for Our Neighbors. We Showed Up.

Before long, there were dozens, and then hundreds of people in the streets, watching and responding.

organizingmythoughts.org

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Reposted by Melissa Paints

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 14h

They Came for Our Neighbors. We Showed Up.

Before long, there were dozens, and then hundreds of people in the streets, watching and responding.

organizingmythoughts.org

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 11h

In JAMBALAYA dear lordt

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 11h

CREAM OF ___ SOUP??

Reposted by Melissa Paints

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 15h

Matt Stoller being very Matt Stoller, calling someone else a "classic left poseur snob"

Matt Stoller being eviscerated by @dieworkwear.bsky.social

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Reposted by Melissa Paints

Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 19h

Here is some material Bari Weiss published regarding Covid.

So when anyone defends her in any way, what they are saying is that real world victims of medical disinformation don’t matter.

It’s all just a game to these pundits.

• Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: The Government Censored Me and Other Scientists. We Fought Back-and Won
• Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: Free Speech on Trial
• Dr. Marty Makary: Dr. Fauci's Legacy
• Drs. Tracy Hoeg and Marty Makary: U.S.
Public Health Agencies Aren't 'Following the Science,'
• Dr. Marty Makary: Officials Say, Universities' Covid Policies Defy Science and Reason,
• Drs. Vinay Prasad, Stefan Baral, Lucy McBride: Bringing Sanity to the Omicron Chaos, Talking To Three Doctors Who Have Been Islands Of Reason In A Sea Of Confusion.
• Dr. Vinay Prasad: Let Djokovic Play
• Dr. Vinay Prasad: We Have a Tripledemic.
Not of Disease, But of Fear,
• Drs. Vinay Prasad and John Mandrola: The Epidemic of #DiedSuddenly
• Dr. Vinay Prasad: How to Save Science From
Covid Politics
• Dr. Vinay Prasad: What RFK Jr. Gets Right— and What He Gets Wrong,
• Dr. Vinay Prasad: Vinay Prasad: Why Was My Talk at a Medical Conference Canceled?
• Dr. Vinay Prasad: Covid Vaccines Shouldn't Be 'Routine' for Kids.

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 16h

LOL contemplating mortality lately Donnie?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18h

Trump: "I don't think there's anything that's gonna get me in heaven. I think I'm not maybe heaven bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One. I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to make heaven."

Reposted by Melissa Paints

Caitlin G. DeAngelis @caitlindeangelis.bsky.social · 18h

ICE kidnapped a 7th-grader with a pending asylum claim and spirited him out of state without notifying his parents, seemingly with the cooperation of the local police in Everett, MA.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/12/m...

Everett 13-year-old arrested by ICE and sent to Virginia detention facility
By Marcela Rodrigues Globe Staff,Updated October 12, 2025, 44 minutes ago

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A 13-year-old boy was arrested by ICE in Everett and sent to a juvenile detention facility in Virginia.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested by ICE in Everett and sent to a juvenile detention facility in Virginia.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Everett after an interaction with members of the Everett Police Department and sent to a juvenile detention facility in Virginia, according to his mother and immigration lawyer Andrew Lattarulo.

The boy’s mother, Josiele Berto, was called to pick her son up from the Everett Police Department on Thursday, the day he was arrested. After waiting for about an hour and a half, she was told her son was taken by ICE, Berto told the Globe in a phone interview.

“My world collapsed,” Berto said in Portuguese.

From the police department, the boy was taken to ICE’s holding facility in Burlington on Thursday evening, where he spent a night before being transferred by car to the Northwestern Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Winchester, Va., on Friday morning, his mother said. The juvenile facility is more than 500 miles away from Everett.

The boy is a 7th-grader at Albert N. Parlin School in Everett, his mother said. The teen and his family, who are Brazilian nationals, have a pending asylum case and are authorized to work legally in the United States, Lattarulo said.

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jadehawk "FREE ŁINK" @jadehawk.bsky.social · 20h

fuck me, the community whistles work to save people. i don't understand why/how, but they demonstrably do.

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 23h

ICE / Border Patrol threatening to arrest a cyclist for following and recording in Chicago

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Reposted by Melissa Paints

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 22h

Fair point. When I send invoices for freelance pieces, I'm often asked to include whether I prefer to be paid through direct deposit, a paper check, or cold hard cash in a Cava bag at a pre-arranged drop site.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

STEPHANOPOULOS: Did Tom Homan give the $50,000 back?

VANCE: He did not take a bribe. It's a ridiculous smear

STEPHANOPOULOS: You didn't answer the question

VANCE: Did he accept $50,000? I'm sure that in the course of Homan's life, he's been paid more than $50k for services.

(So, no, he didn't)

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 20h

Either will work as long as it fits you tightly, but if you're planning on papier macheing right onto it, I think you'd want to sand on the hard hat a little to give it some grip.

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 20h

Haha yep it does

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 21h

It's so beautiful

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 21h

Mmm that sounds delicious for special occasions

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 21h

Oh that's handy! I have a big ass Vitamix so it makes a nice smoothie but it's not quite so handy haha.

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 21h

Yeah I think what I made this morning (not measuring) was like 8 oz tops.

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 21h

I don't have that winter problem so much here in New Orleans but thank you for the tips!

Reposted by Melissa Paints

womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 22h

The work of contemporary Northumberland artist and printmaker Rebecca Vincent #ReframingWomenPrintmakers

Print featuring a view over a colourful furrowed field landscape to a flat horizon on which a single windblown tree grows under a sunset pinky blue sky

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 22h

I'll have to look into these packets. I am fine with and able to make them but it would be good to have those around for some busy or cranky days

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 23h

Oooh I love peanut butter

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 23h

HARD WIRED

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 23h

OH HE BROUGHT OUT THE MONSTRANCE

Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 1d

Chicago priest Fr. Larry Dowling describes procession to ICE facility: “No one had the courage to speak directly to us. No one from Homeland Security could stand in the presence of the Monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. No wonder. Evil is repelled, recoils in the presence of Christ.”

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 23h

Legit have like 5 frozen bananas in my freezer right now and this did not occur to me 🤣 (I'm not a big banana person and my husband insists he can eat a Costco amount of bananas and he cannot)