Mariah Painting

I was born and raised in suburban Chicago. Our weekends and vacations were simple outings in nature—camping, fishing, hiking, canoeing. That love of nature has stayed with me all my life. I spent my career in graphic design and marketing—working with color, shape, contrast, form and pattern, but always in an office environment. When retirement approached and my time at work began to wane, I started—timidly at first—to paint. I found inspiration in the outdoors, the elements, the forms and colors I was familiar with. Sunsets. Woods. Lakes and rivers. As I grew more confident in painting through the support of family and friends, I came to the realization that I wanted to capture moods, not pictures. I didn’t want photographic realism, I wanted to create paintings that required you to look into—and mostly, to feel. I came to call these “Dreamscapes”. For they truly come to life from out of my mind’s eye, based on cumulative years of observations in nature. And I discovered the impressionists. As described in one book, "They were interested in painting everyday reality instead of monumental scenes. The Impressionists redefined what it meant to capture reality to mean: to capture a specific moment. This moment of light now, as compared to the moment of light in an hour from now. There was also the idea of painting the impression of a first glance at something. When we look at a landscape, or a crowd of people, we do not instantly see every face or leaf in detailed focus, but as a mass of colour and light. Impressionist painters tried to express this experience." My work now generally evolves in layers—as is nature itself—with depth, light and movement. Subtle tones as well as vibrant colors. Finding balance and focus. Evocative and moody. Sometimes calming and sometimes turbulent, but always expressive of a memory, a mood, a moment in time that’s cherished. As a queer artist, I thank you for letting me share a bit of myself with you.