![Artist Mel McCuddin stands in his art studio, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2016, in Spokane Valley. McCuddin art has been called figurative expressionism. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/uO6q6eDqVn9RLDznlEJuDvMVKgE=/600x0/media.spokesman.com/graphics/2018/07/sr-loader.png)
Mel McCuddin: The Art of Darkness
Inside a downtown gallery maybe two decades ago – that’s where I first got McCuddined. I recall strolling through the vast array of art when one canvas stopped me cold. It contained the disturbing image of a semi-formed man on his back.