Over my working lifetime, I have moved from working in floral shops to real estate and appraising, waitressing,  teaching art classes and being a couch to artists to work with non-profit's and now working in the medical field.

 

I realized a short amount of time ago that

( suppose I always knew this but did not have my attention on it) art is really more than a pretty picture or awesome composition.

 

I reflected on this and realized that in my lifetime as an artist my art has helped heal people and bring them harmony and happiness.

 

The first experience was at my Senior thesis show at the Philadelphia College of Art in 1978. One of my paintings was hanging in the window that faced the Academy of Performing Arts on Broad Street in Philadelphia. The painting is shown to the left. It is of the interior of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in New York from a Pencil sketch I had done when I was there on a trip. At one of those concerts,  a Dentist attended. Upon leaving he was able to view my painting hanging on the first floor of the gallery in the college. It was in a window next to the steps the front entrance of  the Academy.  The next day he came to the college to purchase the painting. That was awesome. I was a young artist and here a complete stranger wanted my art work!  Game changer!

 

Shortly after graduating,  my cousin asked me to send a painting over to the hospital she worked at. So I did.  It was an image of looking up at the sky and down to the earth at the same time. A few months went by and one day she called me and said that one of the surgeons would sit in front of it before he did surgery. When he left the Hospital he purchased that painting.  I was happy for him and for me that I was able to offer this image to the world and it made a difference in some ones'  life. 

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I have created many paintings over the past 59 years that I have been drawing or painting.

I love to hear when a painting makes a difference. More recently, 2012,  I had won first in Oil at an exhibition in Chatham, MA for a painting of two women talking. It is called "The Talk". You can see it in my Storytelling Collection. A group of Alzheimer patients had come to the Gallery to talk about the artwork. My painting was selected as the topic to create an avenue for the clients to conjure up memories and to have a conversation. It was an ah-hah moment for me. My own mother had Alzheimer's at the time and I knew that images helped with her memories. I actually talked to my Grandmother's spirit when I was making the painting so she could help guide me.

 

All my experiences have brought me to pursue this new approach to bringing my art to the world and my passion to teach art. As art for healing, harmony & happiness.  I am positive that art is essential for our wellbeing and can help if you are feeling burn-out in your. job. The Pandemic was not easy adn we are still feeling the stress from it. I want to help with that. 

I am working on something . Once it it finished I will tell you more about it. 

If you are interested I do encourage you to subscribe so you can get updated information when it becomes available.

DO IT FOR YOUR OWN SELF-CARE!

 

My wish is that one of these pieces will speak to you and help you on your journey and that you will join in to learn more about Color Mixing and painting.

 

Thank you for joining me. 

#Create to Chill

Hugs to all

Mary Carroll