Today we’d like to introduce you to Marisa Macklin.

Hi Marisa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

My story as an artist is decorated with fateful encounters and unexpected twists. It truly began in my childhood, cast by my mother’s restrictions on my self-expression and identity. She had an affinity for revoking my joy, which left me fragmented from my artistic self and hesitant to envision a future in art. This disconnect has significantly affected my ability to trust my creative instincts, resulting in cyclical fears every time I enter the studio. Even with the intrinsic battle to reconnect with my childhood self, I continue to paint large-scale realistic paintings feverishly: why? Because it brings me joy!

Despite the wall between me and art growing up, I was headstrong about becoming a Broadway actress and focused on musical theater in my youth. I went to college for a BFA in Musical Theater, but after one semester, I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life embodying someone else’s art; I needed to make my own. I made the risky decision to change my major to Studio Art. It took me a semester to train my hand enough not to hate what I was making, but I soon fell in love with painting.

After graduating I embarked on my career path. I immersed myself in the gallery world, working for four art galleries across eight locations, planning hundreds of exhibitions, managing over a hundred artists, and selling numerous paintings. However, the fast-paced and task-saturated nature of those jobs left me with no bandwidth or time to paint. Four years into my career, I faced an identity crisis due to feeling half-human from not painting for so long. In an act of self-perseverance, I rented a unit at Jackknife Studios in Oakland, CA, and started anew in a bid to reclaim my identity as an artist. Since then I have had 4 solo shows, 2 museum exhibits, won multiple awards, and sold paintings to collectors.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

In yet another surprising twist from the universe, it happened again: a slow and painful lapse in time devoid of painting. Shortly after getting married to my husband in 2022, we moved into an off-grid log home on 40 acres in the middle of nowhere, Sonoma County, California. Our new garage was cluttered with old workbenches, a massive archaic inventor system for our solar system, and all of our moving boxes, with bare-boned studded walls and no amenities. It took time to save money and over a year to renovate the space into a proper studio, adding electricity, plumbing, insulation, drywall, a sound system, and new doors and windows. Eight months ago, it was finally ready for me to start painting again. I am currently developing my 2024 series, “Fashion, Fruit, and Fowl,” which explores the vibrant interplay between people posing with fruit and chickens, set against minimal or immersive scenes filled with the energy of momentary stillness.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

I refer to myself as a Contemporary Figurative Painter, and the materials I use are acrylic paint and Liquitex Slow-Dri Blending Medium, and canvas. This slow-drying medium is essential to my practice because it gives me extra time to refine gradients and play with folds in the fabric or build harmonious hue marriages within objects. It also enhances the depth and intensity of the paint while increasing the transparency of the paint, allowing me to build up several thin layers of carefully mixed colors to create rich, dynamic relationships. My subject matter is centralized around the human figure with an added compulsion to paint fabric. Presented behind these figures are vibrant environments or minimalist backdrops complimenting the subject’s state of mind.

Who else deserves credit in your story?

One of my biggest influences is Jewish Canadian artist Chloe Wise. Wise merges the classical European style of portraiture from the Renaissance period with present-day pop culture references sprinkled throughout some of her oil paintings.  For me, she stands among the strongest contemporary female portrait artists today. Alice Neel, Wise’s biggest influence is also a major inspiration for me because she was one of the first women to gain international recognition for her portrait work and is celebrated as one of the most original and daring portraitists of our time.

In addition, Kehinde Wiley is a huge inspiration to me. From where I’m sitting, he’s the most notable contemporary figurative artist of our lifetime. I am captivated by his flawless brushwork. I had the privilege of viewing one of his pieces at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. I stood in front of his painting for 25 minutes in utter silence, barely blinking, absorbing every single square inch of his masterpiece. While I can only aspire to reflect an atom of their talent, I must circle back to my roots and reapply this inspiration to discover my childhood self and embrace the opportunity to align with my creative identity —simply by being true to myself.

Pricing:

• Bodega Chic: $5,500
• The Rooster’s Keeper: $1,500
• Harvest Voyage: $3,250
• Sunkissed Sweetness: $3,250

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marisapaintsalot.com
• Instagram: @marisapaintsalot
• Other: TikTok: @marisapaintsalot