Marcia Crumley – Organic Flowing Paintings of Trees

Marcia Crumley

New England, USA

Organic Flowing Paintings of Trees

 

I was born and raised in the Boston area and I’m a New Englander through and through.  I like the variability and unpredictability of the weather, and being outdoors in every season.  This inclination toward variety plays out in my art.  I like experimenting with different mediums and styles – it’s the opposite of what they teach you in art school about painting in a consistent voice and theme.  To me, that’s like living in San Diego ….. same-o, same-o, 75 and sunny no matter what.

 

The Sound of the Trees ©Marcia Crumley

I spent a lot of my adult life focused on math, economics and finance.  It was a pleasant surprise to learn that the other half of my brain actually works and that I have other talents. I plan to spend the rest of my adult life focusing on my artistic, creative side and learning new skills.

 

STYLE

I guess I would call it interpretive realism.

 

MEDIUMS

Acrylics and water-based media (inks, gouache).

 

TECHNIQUES

I use a variety of techniques but the one I always go back to is the one I used in these featured works, where I pour paint over layers of resist.

 

    

THEMES

Organic, flowing forms, trees, water, reflections…

 

 

Enchanted Forest ©Marcia Crumley

 

Where do you find ideas?

The best spot on earth – lying in a hammock in Maine, under the trees, looking out at the water.

 

Why create art?

To put down on paper or canvas all of these images that are floating around in my head.

 

How often do you create art?

I’m in my studio two full days a week, plus any other time I can squeeze in. I have to balance painting with a full-time job.

 

What do you think is the best artwork you ever created?

I did a great painting of my father-in-law drinking a martini, his favorite past-time.  I very rarely do portraits – I’ve done only three or four in my life – but this one really captured his personality and spirit (pardon the pun).

 

What is an artist’s role in society?

Artists are here to provoke.  Not in the in-your-face kind of way, but in the “hey here’s something worth spending some time thinking about” kind of way.

 

     

Do you make a living from your art?

I have a “five-year plan”, which is really more of a five-year dream, of being able to quit my day job and make a living off my art.  But, to be honest, the life of a studio artist is lonely and I’m not sure I’d really enjoy doing it full time. I can get lost in time using either my right brain or my left brain and feel the need to spend time every day in both worlds.  All of one or the other would be limiting and frustrating.

 

Hush, Winter Woods ©Marcia Crumley

Art Promotion

I sell through my Etsy shop and share my works in progress, finished paintings and works photography on my Facebook page.  I really don’t have time to do much more than that, and I’d rather focus my efforts on just a few areas vs. a scattershot approach.

 

Influences

Hokusai (design); Rockwell Kent (mood); David Hockney and Wolf Kahn (color);

 

Can you recommend a  contemporary artist?

Michael Mazur’s Rain on Water series is stunning in its simple beauty.  He provides the perfect amount of detail and no more – along with amazing color combinations – to create moody, elegiac pieces.

 

Please tell us some interesting events in your life.

My dad was a fanatic fisherman and I used to go out with him in all kinds of weather.  I bought my first formal dress with money I made catching and selling striped bass.  (Fortunately lemon juice gets the smell of fish out of your skin, or I would have been a fairly stinky date.) I still have a mean casting arm.

 

What are your plans as an artist in 10 years from now?

Exploring new techniques, mixing it up.  I’d like to try mew mediums – printmaking and woodblocks have always fascinated me. 

 

Advice for aspiring and emerging artists

Well, I’m aspiring and emerging myself, and all I can say is it’s a heck of a lot of work, for very little money, so you better really enjoy it!

 

Marcia Crumley - Organic Flowing Paintings of Trees

New England, USA

Website: Marcia Crumley Art 

Facebook Page: Marcia Crumley Art