I grew up in Michigan in a warm creative family of five who always placed a high value on the arts. During my school years, I loved drawing and painting both in classes and on my own and ended up majoring in art at Michigan State University. Since graduating with a degree in art from the University of San Diego, I have lived in upstate New York, Austria, Connecticut, Michigan, and Illinois. I moved to Seattle Washington in 1996 with my husband, two daughters and our two spunky terrier friends.
The move opened up new vistas of possibility for my art. In recent years I have been focusing on combining my passion for painting with my longstanding interest in animal advocacy as a part of a broader calling to issues of justice and compassion. I have been able to participate in many solo and group exhibitions in the Puget Sound area and beyond, and to draw other animal-inspired artists together around shows that benefit animals.
My work always begins with a well-defined concept – I envision what I want to do before it gets translated onto paper or canvas. I labor intently, experimenting and crafting with a strong focus on color and design until I’m satisfied that the piece “works.” The resulting images convey my delight in painting animals, and a bright joyfulness that is testified to by the comment I repeatedly receive at shows, that “these paintings make you smile.” The sense of whimsy is often married to an aura of mystery and wonder: Funny. Scary. Like us, not like us – who are these furry, scaled and feathered ones who also inhabit this fragile planet?
Mary Anne Nagy joined Fine Art America on September 16th, 2009.
