We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marisa Rheem a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Marisa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The story behind the most notable risk I have taken in my fine art career begins with a nonplus decision to switch majors after my first semester of college from a BFA in Musical Theater to a BFA in Studio Art. I’ve always been creative but growing up I focused on musical theater. I dreamt of being a Broadway actress and I took it seriously, acting, singing, and dancing in year-round productions.

I’ve always harbored disdain for school, which is to be distinguished from the zest I feel for learning. This long-harbored disdain kept me from having the desire to go to college, yet went anyway and attended the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico. After an arduous semester of rehearsing 12 hours a day, I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life acting out someone else’s art, I needed to make my own. I enthusiastically called my parents to tell them I was dropping out of school because I didn’t like my major. “I gave it a good try!”, I said. They didn’t care what I majored in as long as I stayed enrolled. I needed to make my decision quickly. All I had to go on was that I had gone to a couple of summer camps for painting, so I took a leap and embraced the risk of committing to something I could potentially fail at. I fatefully stumbled into painting and I believe my career started exactly when it needed to. I am grateful that when I was ready to drop out of college, I leaned into the unknown and pushed through.

When I showed up to my first painting class, anxiety encompassed the uncertainty of my choice. But as I spent more and more hours using my brushes, wonder consumed me. Painting evoked my humanness and through that integration, it introduced me to itself: my life’s purpose. As my education continued my spirit came alive; she crawled out of her ancient den and peeked her head out to delight in all the colors on my palette.

Marisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In November 2019, I debuted my first solo exhibition, “Impermanent Fascination,” which premiered at Jackknife Gallery. My second solo exhibition in 2020, “Momentary Captivation,” was displayed at the International Art Museum of America in San Francisco. Two of my paintings were accepted into the de Young Museum for a juried group show titled, “de Young Open,” from October 2020 to January 2021. In 2021 I exhibited in a juried group show at the San Francisco Women Artists Gallery (SFWAG) titled, “Slice of Life,” and had a third solo show titled, “Loosey Goosey,” at Jackknife Gallery. She was accepted into a juried group show at the SFWAG titled, “Bold Colors” and was awarded the Juror’s Choice award for her painting, “Puff Puff Passing By.”  In 2022, I was accepted into two juried group shows at SFWAG where my paintings nearly sold out. In 2022 I sold work in the Arts for Oakland Kids quarterly auction highlighting artist Mel Ramos, as well as, a fourth solo show at the Fort Ross School in Fort Ross, California. I have paintings and prints for sale on my website and am also available for commissioned work.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

After graduating from from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM in 2014 I was feverishly inspired to become a self-sufficient artist, but was keenly aware of the harsh reality and struggle artists undertake to sell enough work to survive, let alone live comfortably. I made a pact with myself to go on a top-secret undercover mission to find out what it takes to make it as a self-sufficient artist. I immediately started working for fine art galleries in Santa Fe, NM and San Francisco, CA as an Assistant Gallery Director, Gallery Administrator, and Art Consultant. Every gallery I have worked for I fibbed in the interviews. “Where do you see yourself in the next 5-10 years?”, they would ask, a stereotypical question I was prepared to answer. I always claimed, “I am committed to long-term employment in the industry with the overall goal to become a Gallery Director one day.” Little did they know, I was never planning on remaining victim to the torturous lifestyle of working from 9-6 in an office setting. Over the past 10 years I have worked for four art galleries (two of which had three national locations), planned a couple hundred exhibitions, managed roughly 250 artists, and sold numerous paintings while art consulting. I have been strategic about building my career brick by brick. All of my knowledge about the art industry has been gained because I’ve intentionally put myself in challenging professional positions that pushed my limits. I can comfortably say that I’ve completed my undercover mission and gathered enough intel about what established galleries expect from artists. Within the last four years, I have had 15 exhibitions, including one solo show at the International Art Museum of America and a group exhibition at the de Young Museum. Next mission? To be represented by a gallery.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Despite the knowledge I’ve gainfully acquired during my undercover mission, there is one consequence I have been burdened by and desperate to unlearn: my toxic fixation on creating sellable paintings for the average consumer. In college, I painted for art’s sake and self-expression, but during my gallery career, I grew anxious about how to paint pieces that people would want to hang on their walls. This distraction has taken some freedom from my creative process and overhauled the amount of joy I feel in the studio. I ask myself, “Am I doing this right?”, “Will someone want to buy this more if I paint this way or that way?”. I have a large message written in pencil on my studio wall, “Don’t think, just move your hands.” It helps me to compartmentalize my thoughts, swat them away, and let my hands and heart do the work. Despite being scared every time I paint, I trust my right hand to pull through. With a quiet mind, a joyous energy sparkles in me while my hand confidently dances across the canvas. when I let my thoughts take over, I worry if I am making the right color and brushwork choices. Lately, I have been having a blast in my new studio in Sonoma County, California, painting with a wild heart with gusto. Currently, I am beginning a new series which will be done in 2024.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marisarheem.com
• Instagram: @marisapaintsalot
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/marisapaintsalot
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-rheem-569588b9
• Youtube: @marisarheem264

Image Credits
In order of upload… – The Couch Boys, acrylic on canvas, 40″x60″ – Keep Up, Style Don’t Wait, acrylic on canvas, 60″x48″ – Fruit Salad, acrylic on canvas, 48″x48″ – A Low-key Kind of Day, acrylic on canvas, 40″x30″ – The Buzzcut Boys, acrylic on canvas, 60″x40″ – Installing “Loosey Goosey”, a solo show at Jackknife Gallery in Oakland, CA – All Gussied Up, acrylic on canvas, 40″ x 30″ – Puff Puff Passing By was awarded Juror’s Choice in the “Bold Colors” exhibition at the San Francisco Women Artists Gallery Caption for the Personal Photo uploaded… Opening night at the International Art Museum of America for the solo exhibition, “Momentary Captivation”, in San Francisco, CA