MARI O'BRIEN, ISAP, UWS, CCWS
I grew up in the grasses of Iowa on a warm summer day, then grew into adventures in many places/spaces over the years. Throughout it all was my passion for learning. Being a kid was fun because I could learn new things every day, including in art (my mom and grandpa were both amateur artists). I eventually figured out that the learning didn’t ever have to stop. In fact, I became a professor so that I could remain a student for the rest of my life and get paid for it!
Twenty years ago -- after 25 years teaching French, comparative literature, women’s studies, and humanities – I returned to the art playgrounds of my youth. Making experimental art keeps me learning and joyful – alive, energized, and engaged – exploring and sharing what unites us as humans.
CV Highlights
I have been exhibiting my work since 2007 and have won several national / International awards. My work has been accepted/juried into over 40 exhibitions and I have had four solo shows. I am a signature member of the International Society of Acrylic Painters, the Utah Watercolor Society, and the Central Coast Watercolor Society.
Highlights
"Rough Music" was juried into the 2017 International Society of Experimental Artists 26th Annual Juried Experimental Art Exhibit
"Flame Dancer" took 1st place in the 2017 International Society of Experimental Artists annual All-Member Virtual Exhibition. This painting also took 1st place in the 2017 Central Coast Watercolor Society's annual Aquarius Open Exhibition, as well as 2nd place in the 2017 International Society of Acrylic Painters 8th Annual Online Open Exhibition.
"Flame Dancer" was also one of 110 winning paintings published in North Light Books’ international acrylics competition AcrylicWorks 5: Bold Values (2018).
Art Media
- Acrylic
- Collage
- Digital
- Ink
- Mixed media
- Photography
- Soft pastel
Statement
My subconscious seems to guide me intuitively through my acrylic, collage, mixed-media, and now digital paintings. Playing with mediums, textures, line, composition, mark-making, color is always an adventure for me. I am an auto-didacte, and I love experimenting with new art products and new (for me) techniques. My paintings are mostly multi-layered abstract or non-representational pieces, although I do love painting caricatural figures from time to time. My goal is always to connect spiritually, emotionally, or aesthetically with the viewer — to reveal some commonality, some shared fragment of awareness, some hidden connection among us.
Following a serious accident in 2023, I was bedridden for many months and unable to stand and paint. So, to feed my art addiction, I turned to digital painting. I am currently in the process of writing/illustrating a meditation on growing old— poetry and meditations, verse and ruminations on this highly interesting phase of life that I am ensconced in. Digital paintings are part of this project.
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