Marie Cummings and her Art

PO Box 283, Treadwell, NY Telephone:  607-829-2206
E-mail: marieh2oart@yahoo.com

You may contact Marie here:
marieh2oart@yahoo.com

BIOGRAPHY
Marie Cummings was born in Detroit, Michigan. There she studied psychology and business at Wayne State University. She moved to Clearwater, Florida with her three daughters in 1971, where she embarked on a career as a Realtor. When her last daughter entered college, Marie decided to seek a new direction in her life: she decided to explore artistic creativity. While studying Experimental Watermedia at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center (Dunedin, Florida), she also ventured into Creative Writing at St. Petersburg Junior College (St. Petersburg, Florida). This dual experience served as a launching pad for a serious embrace of fine art from an outside-the-box viewpoint.

Since that time, Marie has focused on the creative potential of watermedia. She finds deep, rich, bold hues intensely exciting. Marie thinks of her palette, brushes and paper as tools for play. Water and paint dance together in her studio, making forms that spark the imagination. Her work is a form of meditation, an expression of her soul. 

Marie presently teaches Experimental Watermedia at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center — the same course that first inspired her to take the leap into the world of art. She also enjoys teaching beginning watercolor classes for adults who are beginning to dip their toes in the wellspring of their own creative resources. She takes a relaxed yet encouraging approach to instruction, giving her students the time, space and gentle guidance necessary to grow as artists. 

Marie is a signature member of the  Florida Watercolor Society, signature member of ISAP (International Society of Acrylic Painters) the Tallahassee Watercolor Society and full membership in SLMM (Society of Layerists in Multi Media). Her works are in the collection of the City of Clearwater, the Federal Reserve Bank (Jacksonville, Florida) and various private collections. Marie was juried into The National Association of Women Artists, New York.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I was first inspired to create this series of mixed media works on paper and illustration board after taking a workshop with Mary Todd Beam. During the workshop, she incorporated cut-out paper dolls — the kind that children make — into her artwork.

Later, as I was in my studio working on a painting, I remembered the paper dolls and thought of how much I appreciate people: their unique and individual thoughts and feelings. We are not at all like paper dolls on the inside (though we may resemble each other on the outside) and yet, at the same time, we are all one. Pondering this paradox, I cut some paper dolls from a comic strip and collaged them into the first painting.

I see life as multi-faceted, richly textured, and complex — and so is my art. I paint with watermedia and use gesso gel and tissue paper to create the textures on which I apply my paints in successive layers. I utilize unusual materials as stencils for the pigments: onion bags, cardboard, bubble wrap, and stamps, among other things.

My artwork is contemplative; I work from internal inspirations rather than tangible subject matter. It is non-objective and I can spend many hours — even weeks or months — contemplating the best resolution for a particular painting.

In a way, I am obsessed by my work. Sometimes, when I feel really free, I can let go with abandon, knowing that’s it’s only a piece of paper and a little bit of paint and if it doesn’t work out, I can cover it up with gesso and start all over again. There are no mistakes in my work; each painting is a process, a new experience that I can learn from. With each piece, I try to stretch myself beyond my comfort level and reach for the unknown.

I want people to feel this abandon, this expressive freedom, when they see my work. I want viewers to experience a sense of happiness; to delight in the colors and whimsy — to enjoy this reminder of what it means to be alive.

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All artwork is copyrighted ©2005 by artist Marie Cummings  any unauthorized use will be considered a violation of the copyright laws.
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