Passionate about Art

I first met Mary Ann Flores in 1987. I had just opened a little shop called Quaint and Country and she had come to check it out. She also had a great idea. She offered to paint a sign in my window, and instead of cash, we could barter. Thus began a great friendship. We inspire each other, and sometimes, when one of us has an idea, we get so excited, ideas start bouncing off the walls and windows. Everyone needs a friend in their life like my friend, Mary Ann.

Mary Ann's Studio is in the basement of her home. Her husband, also an artist, painted a mural that leads down the stairs.


Mary Ann's work area is to the right. Her complete home is decorated like an art gallery. The paintings are all done by her and her husband. For years, Mary Ann has been building a vast collection of her original water colors and acrylic paintings, patiently waiting for the opportunity to showcase her talent. A gallery is interested in her work, but Mary Ann wants to create more pieces.




Over the years, Mary Ann has immersed herself in her art. She's taken numerous classes and has an impressive personal library of art books. She also has files of "studies", pictures of trees, landscapes, people, flowers, etc. She says that she always comes away from taking a class or reading a book with some bit of knowledge. No class has ever been wasted on her, no book a chore to read. "If you learn one thing, it was worth it," she often says.

I love these paintings that she did for her granddaughters.

The influences of Monet and Van Gogh are evident in this picture.


Recently, Mary Ann has started to do altered art, assemblage and Artist Trading Cards. For years she has saved bits and pieces of sea glass, shells, feathers, jewelry and discards. Now she has found a place to use them in her art.

Mary Ann loves painting the Statue of Liberty. Here one of her renditions looks over her rack of many watercolors.



Mary Ann talks to her "muse" on an old fashioned rotary phone.



Having Mary Ann for a friend is a treat and an honor. We are very much alike, which makes being friends with her easy. For instance, we both like to go to the beach. We collect stones and sea glass and funny shapes of wood. We once sketched and water colored on the beach; another time we made mosaic pictures in the sand, using different colored rocks. We inspire each other every time we talk. We trade books and art supplies and keep each other informed on new techniques.

When I left Mary Ann's studio on Saturday, she was telling me about an assemblage she was going to start. Today, Tuesday, she called to say it was almost complete.

Mary Ann is an artist who walks the walk. She lives and breathes her art everyday. She's not motivated by money or fame, but by an unexplainable desire and passion to create. "I have no choice." she explained to me.

If you are an artist, then you know what she means.


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