We recently connected with Mara Shane and have shared our conversation below.

Mara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew I wanted to be an artist ever since I was born. As a child, I could fall into the world of creating with a blank piece of paper and some colored pencils, or whatever else I could get my hands on- ink, highlighters, or pencils. It was what calmed me down and at the same time infused so much joy through my whole being. My parents and my sister are all creative artists so it’s in our blood.

My father’s parents wanted him to be a lawyer but after he tried to appease them by going to law school, he shortly dropped out and went to art school instead. He then created his own business drawing renderings of homes, commercial real estate, and hotels for the building industry.

I grew up coloring on Xerox paper in his office after school among his team of artists creating renderings in pen and ink and watercolor yet I knew that I never had an interest in drawing houses or landscapes. My niche was drawing and painting portraits of people. The facial features of people captivated me and I loved trying to capture them on paper.

My parents never pushed the whole college thing on me because they knew I was an artist and I had no need for it unless I was going to be a doctor or lawyer or something that needed a degree. I was an artist and a writer, and that was it. They truly believed in me.

I was also very into editing film and video and directing, and when I was twenty years old I got accepted into Art Center College of Design, the same school my father went to- but for their film program instead of art.

I found the pace of Art Center incredibly hard to keep up with and I decided to leave after two months and head to Hollywood to knock on back doors (literally) and try and get a job on a movie lot. I had some success and did some work as a production assistant on different lots like Paramount Studios and the CBS Radford lot- but in the end, my art was always calling to me, urging me to go back to what I loved the most- drawing and painting.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in 1975, and am a proud member of Generation X. Raised in Southern California, my life’s soundtrack revolved around bands like Def Leopard. Poison, Guns & Roses, Madonna, The Go-Go’s, The Bangles, and Michael Jackson, and I grew up with some of the best music ever produced of all time. I was born in the right era- the music and bold style defined me and I was a walking glittered, hairsprayed, teenager who daydreamed in class and spent all my weekends drawing rock stars for my friends. To this day I don’t know how I passed algebra let alone graduated High School.

Today, my pieces are a multi-layered mixed media approach that combines traditional acrylic painting techniques, layered with digital manipulation and modern printing methods, and results in a unique fusion of analog and digital artistry. In other words, I start freehand sketching a face on canvas, then paint in acrylics, and finally, after taking a photo of my canvas, I add some digital sketchy lines over my work.

One of the pieces I am especially proud of is a portrait of actress Molly Ringwald as she stared as Andi in the John Hughes cult classic, Pretty in Pink, and even though I initially messed up on the canvas the first time around, I went on to perfect Molly onto a 4 x5 foot canvas with street-like dripping hearts and graffiti letters.

I customize and tailor each of my pieces to the client’s overall wishes, staying true to my vision because I can see a finished product right from the beginning in my mind. Yet, some of my best pieces have resulted from ‘mistakes’ and I also encourage the flow of the piece, surprising even myself at the end.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Absolutely there is. I have never felt like I fit in anywhere. A lot of artists are extremely sensitive and empathic and feel things to an extent that most logical, non-creatives do not. We creatives live between two worlds- the imaginary and the ‘real’ world, and we transform our feelings into something tangible and put it out there to be either massacred, ignored, or if we are lucky, loved. Some people can relate to our work and others can not.

Being an artist and a writer means I am often alone. Yet being alone is where I do my best work. The thing is, being an artist is both a blessing and a curse. It’s also the most spiritually close I feel to what others refer to as God, my Higher Power, or my Truest Self.

When I am painting or drawing the world stands still. Time flies by. I have been likened to a crazy professor with wild hair who disappears into my solitary world only to emerge days or weeks later, realizing I haven’t slept or eaten. Art is like that- it is all absorbing and creating is the elusive high that most people turn to psychedelics for. There have been times when I stopped painting only to crawl into bed still on that painter’s high, feeling like I am swimming in the paint and dancing in the brush strokes.

In essence, being an artist is like seeing the world in color when others see the world in black and white.

This is something ‘normal’ people who do not create will never understand. For all the pain and hurt I have experienced with people, art is a constant that never leaves me. It has saved me so many times over from despair and depression.

Unfortunately, we are usually our hardest critic and the enemy is perfection. That is why many of us create but only a few expose our work to the world. My favorite poem is ‘The Man in the Arena’ by Theodore Roosevelt. Perhaps no other words have been written to completely express what it feels like to be a creator

There is beauty in imperfection, and getting to that place where you are able to put out your work into the masses and not care what anyone says is the ultimate goal and for me the ultimate freedom.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that I am never alone. No one can take away the joy it feels to create. It is a different feeling when you are only dependent on yourself for your own happiness and those of us who are blessed with any sort of need or driven by any kind of passion to create- are truly the lucky ones.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marashane.com/
• Instagram: marashaneart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoGloryInFame/