Hello dear friends,
I’d like to share with you a little bit about my journey with art. I’ve always loved anything that had to do with creating from the time I could hold a pencil in my hand. My earliest memories, I suppose, are from about 4 or 5 years old. I enjoyed Captain Kangaroo, and the little shoe box containing crayons, pencils, erasers, glue, string, paper, etc. he so happily employed in his show, I duplicated for myself. It was more of a treasure box for me….for me it might as well have contained rubies, amethysts, and sapphires.
Although I did have a few lessons here and there, and managed to attain a BA in art, I consider myself self-taught in the field of art. Oils were my preference for painting since I was 12 years old, and Rembrandt was my real teacher and mentor for many years. Then, as my work progressed and my subject matter evolved I became influenced by John Waterhouse and William Bouguereau.
In 1996 I began a spiritual journey I will not soon forget, and my paintings reflected its results. Perhaps some of you can relate to that place of ‘going in’ where one finds yourself (who you are, what you are about)…Sue Monk Kidd so poignantly calls it cocooning…and in finding yourself, you find God; a glimpse of the Divine and your connection to It. I think the birth of my son in 1989 began this remarkable connection to the creation of God, but that’s another story.
Many beautiful works came out of this search and Self-awareness. They are like way stations along my life’s journey, and I learned many things from them – patience, perseverance, endurance. But they were serious pieces expressing much emotion, passion, and expression, filled with illumination not only for myself, but for anyone who could find themselves within them.
By 2004 my journey’s path began to clear, and by 2007 I found myself yearning to express myself in a lighter way. So I picked up the brush once again, but this time my chosen medium was also “lighter” – watercolors. I began making fun, little pictures that I gave to friends, or used on hand made cards. They were brighter, more whimsical, and soon led to the Knittington Fairies series, as well as the Garden Sprites series (I haven’t posted these yet, but hopefully by summer they will emerge).
I am in the process of expressing another side of myself; the whimsical, playful side. (Don’t you find that you have so many different sides to you, like the many facets on a beautifully cut diamond?) And I must say that I am having fun with it.
Well, now you know a little more about how I got to Leisure Lane – a place I hope to showcase my work with the success that will enable me to create more, because that’s when I’m truly happy. And the more I create, the more inspiration can flow through me and out to others. It allows me to feel like I am using my gifts in the way in which they were intended to be used…giving joy, inspiration, and illumination to others.
Thank you for visiting. I enjoy hearing from you, so feel free to leave a comment. Until next time, may happy days abound.
Marianne
The above paintings listed in order of appearance:
Into The Light, Patience II, With the Within, Love’s Strength, The Magic Mirror
Dance of the Luna
The Magic Mirror
