Melvin Freeman was born in Seattle, Washington in the late 70s. He was raised in Seattle’s urbanized Central District neighborhood. In his formative years, Melvin found his creative inspiration directly in the environment that engulfed him. He was heavily influence by personal experiences, family, music, and the culture of the streets. By the time he was an adolescent, he was well known around his neighborhood for his avant-garde style and various types of self-designed customized shoes to match. With lack of a strong creative outlet, Melvin started his “artistic” journey by tagging graffiti and vandalizing walls all over Seattle’s neighborhoods. In early adulthood, he discovered that he had a niche for photography. Armed with nothing more than a basic camera operations course, he took to the streets. With the strong belief “there are no rules to this shit” he has been able to create the rawest translation of his artistic perception. In 2010, Melvin was diagnosed with the rare condition Autoimmune-Related Retinopathy and Optic Neuropathy (ARRON) Syndrome. This degenerative disease has left him completely blind in the left eye and has gravely affected his vision in the right. Although this condition hinders his capacity to see with perfect vision, it has not stopped his amazing adeptness and love to produce his art.Melvin shoots the bulk of his photos with a Nikon DSLR and shares his photography though his brands EYEsore and Suede Gutz. Photo images are created in the mediums, but are not limited to, canvas, wood, clothing and giclee prints.Melvin’s work has been featured by “We Are Grryo” A Story of Visual Impairment and Visual Artistry, Seattle Community College’s M. Rosetta Hunter Gallery, Through the Eyes of Art: The Value of Black Lives at Seattle’s The Experience Music Project and The Starbucks Center.