"Catching Wind VII" Painting

Maria Lise Jones is an intuitive abstract mark maker who creates ethereal moments on paper with fire. She holds a candle to the paper until the fire makes its mark in black to grey shades. This technique is called Fumage, French for smoking. Since her discovery of the Fumage technique in college, Maria has developed her own techniques to create unique marks, marrying the smokey impressions with her own gestural, intuitive style. Maria captures the moments where the flame and paper meet, an exciting and unpredictable act. She paints with fire for its unique quality of form, for the challenge of a potentially disastrous outcome, and for its endless metaphors and symbols. Maria’s art practice further extends from Fumage to working with mixed media such as chalk pastel, earth pigments, gel mediums, and cut out paper collage of her own design. Maria graduated with honours from the Fine Art program in 2003 at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario. She has shown in juried exhibitions and galleries around Toronto and Japan, and her work can be found in private and corporate Canadian collections. In 2007 Maria chose to step away and focus on her family and reenergize her art practice. Maria has reemerged as a full time artist and currently works in her home studio in the city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario.