M A B R I E O R M E S | F I N E A R T S
I am always making new work. To stay informed of in-person and online shows as well as receive notification when new work is posted to the site, please subscribe to my mailing list using the form on the below.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Copyright 2017 Mabrie Ormes/All rights reserved/No reproduction of any site content allowed without written permission from the Artist and or Author
Since then, through thick and through thin, my main activity in life has been to make paintings, drawings, and handmade prints. In 1989 I earned my Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Colorado, Boulder. For 25 of the past 35 years, I have supported myself by selling my work. Occasionally, I have also taught, both as adjunct to a university and in my studio.
My interests in fine art have gradually centered on the garden, jazz music, and people, whether for nudes, portraits, or narrative treatments. I love to paint and continually explore the medium of oil paint in particular because I like its handling, its durability, and its rich color. My handmade prints, drawings, and water media paintings are ways to generate images, which stand on their own and are sometimes the roots of ideas I will later explore in oil paint. The Art Papers are a relatively new invention of mine and are proving very flexible as a new medium both for fine art-making and for more decorative and utilitarian objects.
This website is my latest development. It will show you where I have been, am now, and even where I might be in the future. There are all kinds of images here. They represent a life's work, not a small thing by any measure.
Interested in purchasing one of my works? You can find many of my art papers, greeting cards, and prints at my Etsy Shop HERE.
If you are interested in purchasing an original painting or print, please contact me via the contact page or the form below. I will get back to you with images of available works or details on the piece that interests you. I am also happy to answer any other questions you may have.
I grew up in Washington D.C., home of the National Art Gallery, the Phillips Collection, and The Corcoran Gallery of Art. These three museums introduced me to Fine Art: the classical works were at the National, the Impressionists were housed at the Phillips and my own first efforts were made in occasional classes in ceramics, drawing or painting at The Corcoran.
I left Washington, D.C., however, and went to Vermont for college, hence to the Peace Corps in West Africa. The two years in the Peace Corps were good preparation for my art-making life because I learned to live very frugally. I also picked up a camera there and even painted a little. Photography was my focus for the next ten years. Eventually, I became frustrated with the limitations of the camera and black and white images. I longed for color and found I had a drawing talent.
Through all this, there was, of course, the issue of making a living, which I answered with factory, service, or landscaping work. In 1976, I got a teaching credential and took a job as an Art teacher in Hailey, Idaho. I worked for two schools, a junior high and a high school. I was fired from the junior high part of the job, which meant I lost the whole job. My frugal habits, however, meant I had a savings account to help me honor my dawning commitment to fine art as a life-long pursuit. That was about 35 years ago.
TO BROWSE MY WORK, PLEAST VISIT THE ART PORTFOLIO PAGE.