It has been a while since I have been featured on Military Spouse Fine Art Network and I have been busy! My most recent showing was at the Salmagundi Club in New York City. I was accepted as an official Coast Guard Artist for their COGAP program…

My year has been full of unexpected coincidences...the first of which took place in a Harris Teeter (grocery store) parking lot.  I was walking to my car when I noticed a gold star on the back of a van.  For anyone that doesn’t know the gold star indicates that an immediate family member has been killed in the line of duty.  I thought to myself, I wish the person who owns this car would come out so I could express my sorrow for their loss.

I continue to paint every day and constantly stretch the boundaries of my abilities. I belong to a group of four mentor/friends that travel together and show our art at different venues.  We have been to Waterworks Art Museum in Miles City, Montana,  are currently showing at the courthouse Art Museum in Clarksville, Tennessee and are looking forward to a venue in Japan!  Travel is always a plus to getting these shows.

Then I was working on a show to be hung at the historic Waterworks Art Museum in Miles City, Montana. It was a wonderful experience and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the site and getting to know such warm and inviting people. This year I am working on a show for the Courthouse Art Museum in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Maria is a military spouse and painter who specializes in portraits. She blogs consistently about her work and her process. She is a warm, joyful woman and I’ve felt privileged to get to know her a bit through her blog, our emails, and this interview. For me, her story reads as an inspiration about how important our work as artists is to honoring and reconciling our intertwined identities of “dependent” and “independent”. Spoiler alert: Maria didn’t start painting until later in her life, but she now seems to be making up for lost time by practicing her art consistently and consciously building an artistic team of support.