Long ago, in the days of my youth, I seemed to always have some kind of creative project bouncing around in my head. I was that kid who could play outside by myself for hours or sit in my room and reimagine my toys and surroundings to keep myself entertained and out of everyone’s way. As I grew up and old, work and family kept me occupied and entertained. I was very fortunate to use my creative energies in classrooms from Kindergarten to university campuses. And my children kept our house lively and challenging!
Retirement a few years ago opened up a whole new world for me. I was in remission from a very aggressive cancer and still dealing with the neuropathy in my hands and feet as a result of chemo. I wanted to do something to help strengthen the fine motor skills in my hands. I immediately thought of art as my go to therapy. I loved working with charcoal, specifically portraits, in high school and my early 20’s. I dabbled in acrylic and oil and, although I loved watercolor paintings, I was only able to create paintings of mud. Granted, there were various shades of mud in each painting, but they looked nothing like the beautiful watercolors I so admired.
So, watercolor was my new challenge. I found a fantastic watercolor artist, Diane Antone, on YouTube and the rest is history. Well, a short history as I started painting lessons with Diane in the fall of 2021. And I loved it. My work today has roots in what I continue to learn from Diane, from experimentation, from commissions, from this crazy imagination of mine, and from the sheer enjoyment of this new challenge.
I hope you enjoy my creations. A former co-worker asked me if I intended to spend my retirement making my silly little paintings. I told her, yes! I offer these designs in cards and prints if you are interested in purchasing anything. Please contact me at mary@marylaurence.com. I will continue to expand my offerings and hopefully continue to make people smile!
