I grew up in Wading River, New York on the east end of Long Island. I spent countless hours roaming the beaches and observing and enjoying the beauty the island had to offer. Through a lifelong interest in photography, I have collected images that I use for reference in my paintings. I am always searching for images that capture the mood of the places I have traveled, whether it is a dramatic sky, flowers in a field or a cricket on a board.
During my early education I was always involved in art projects. I pursued pottery, collage, textile arts and drawing and painting. At Suffolk Community College and Buffalo State College I pursued a BFA degree majoring in printmaking. When I moved to Oregon in the mid 1970’s, I completed a degree in Clothing, Textile and Related Arts at Oregon State University. I studied textile design, graphic design and dabbled in basketry, felting, weaving and fabric printing.
Currently I work with watercolors, acrylics, colored pencils, pastels and woodcuts. I find that oils and acrylics inspire my creativity and natural expression of the subjects I respond to. Painting allows me to capture the world in the way I envision it and bring that expression for others to enjoy in my art.
Many of my paintings are influenced by the hours spent hiking, biking, paddling, cross country skiing, camping in and around the East Coast and Pacific Northwest. These experiences contribute to the imagery that I am drawn to when I paint; flowers show off their colors, skies create drama from above, and the animals and birds I catch on film, are all images that supply the inspiration for my paintings.
Maureen Zoebelein
tmzoeb@gmail.com
- this artist from washington county -