ARTISt STATEMENT

I am inspired by dance, the human figure and the incredible beauty of my native Bay Area landscapes which define my figurative & abstract paintings. I see the connections between these energies and depict the fluidity of patterns. I'm passionate about the motion of figures and the energy that flows from nature through them. My art is about how nature rejuvenates and restores us and how valuable that is.

I begin my artwork in abstraction, very spontaneously, letting layers of color and line build up sometimes being complete as an abstraction. Often my art becomes a dreamscape catching figures in a moment of discovery and communion with nature. I love brilliant color and use layers of gels, washes and pastels to create texture and line. I have a lot of fun doing my art and the process often surprises me.

I have been traveling all my life, in Western Europe, the Yucatan, British Columbia, Mexico and Hawaii. The museums of Western Europe still draw me there and give a multicultural influence to my work.

Mari has served on the PR committee of the ICB Artists Association and has been a member of ICBAA in Sausalito from 2006 to 2022. She served on the board of Artisans Gallery in Mill Valley and was a member of Marin MOCA serving on the Gallery Committee in 2012. Mari served on the Visual Arts Committee of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts for three years. She was a member of The Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County and the Marin Arts Council.  

Her background includes being an art consultant representing modern masters such as Picasso, Miro, Chagall, Dali, Alexander Calder in San Francisco and North Bay galleries for many years. She became a director of sales and opened an art brokerage in Mill Valley. She changed careers opening a Clinical Hypnotherapist practice for 7 years helping clients with goal visualization, dreamwork and intuitive development. She has been a partner in Sausalito Art and Architecture for 15 years. Mari has traveled from Hawaii to the Greek Islands concentrating on the northern hemisphere including a summer spent at University of Mexico in Mexico City studying painting and drawing. She travels to France, Italy and Portugal exploring the museums and art galleries as well as the landscape and architecture of these areas.