Mari Jae Artist

I’m a painter. I’m a mother. I work with wax strings. I use them to create colorful, whimsical people and then they become the subjects of my paintings. The painted figures have a lot of dimension and really pop off the canvas. They are fanciful on one hand and cutting on the other.  They are smile invoking and thought provoking.  They are gibberish and sharply communicative.

After I sculpt the figures out of wax strings, I set them up in bright light with dramatic shadows.  This is a nod to the historical standard of oil painting mastery – the capturing of light.  Even though I’m working in a contemporary way, I pride myself on referencing the traditional ideals of a “perfect painting.”  In addition, I’m also inspired by the communication techniques that I see used in the graphic novels and comic books that my kids read.  Merging history with the contemporary is how I approach my compositions.  As a result, my paintings are dimensional and vibrant, each of them featuring figures who express themselves using thought bubbles and word bubbles.  Adding this as a way for the figures to communicate is how I bridge the gap between silliness and statement. It’s how innocent figures help us explore complex ideas. For example, I might have one male figure saying the word “talk” standing next to a female figure thinking the word “action.” 

I happened upon wax strings while playing with my children.  They were experimenting and deeply engaged with making and stacking shapes all the while completely uninterested in what I was doing. So, I experimented. Then I painted.  My goal with these is to delight and confuse and to make people stop and consider statement-making art in a new way! 

These colorful, minimalist characters are equally effective as the subjects of my oil paintings as they are as contemporary designs in my print on demand shop.  At www.marijaeartist.com you will find original oil paintings, prints, clothing items, accessories, shoes, and housewares all uniquely designed using my original, fanciful, edgy, ousider art, pop art, and absurdist art compositions.  Not to mention, they’re just plain cool!  Feel free to check them out!