Marie Maines
Marie Maines is a retired first grade teacher who has always wanted to be an artist "when I grow up!" She was born, raised and educated in Kentucky, receiving her BS degree from Murray State University in 1959. She taught in Florida, North Carolina and Indiana and returned to school for her MA degree from Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis, in 1988. She retired after 25 years of teaching to become a full-time artist.
During her teaching years, she participated in as many art classes and workshops as possible and devoted summers to pursuing her art. As she moved closer to retirement, she began doing occasional local art fairs. After retirement, she and her husband, Ray, traveled the country for about 10 years, doing multiple art fairs each year and gleaning material for paintings, primarily landscapes containing architectural structures. Marie currently lives near Fort Worth, Texas, to be close to son, Brant, his wife Jeanie and grandchildren, Erin and Jack. Another son, Chris lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with his husband, Joe Kao. Marie continues to study and paint as she fulfills that lifelong dream of being a "real artist".
Marie says, "Being an artist revolves around my desire to tell a story. Unfortunately, I sometimes forget this goal as I get caught up in technique and materials. For many years, my struggle has been involved with skill development, especially as it applies to the medium of pastel. Now, I just want to tell the story.
Although continuing to develop good technique is still very important to me, content must be front and center. As I am emotionally inspired by an idea or visual experience, I want to figure out the best way to share that idea or emotion with the viewer. The composition, light, color, values and mark making should still combine into a beautiful visual experience. The technique should be good enough not to get in the way, but hopefully the story will be what will cause one to pause and look...at least for a moment..."
