Art & Life with Maria Raczynska

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Raczynska.

Maria, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’m a self-taught artist based in West Los Angeles CA. I did a little bit of drawing back in 2003 but I did not really start painting until 2012. What got me in 2012 was the idea of creating my own children’s books. I went to an art store and decided to buy supplies. I loved the idea of using paint and brushes.

I got my first set of cheap watercolor tubes. Now, why did I choose brushes and tubes over pencils or pastels…? Well I did grow up with a mother who’s an oil artist. I watched her paint through my entire childhood but I was never drawn to do it myself. Now when I look at my work and style I think some of the brush strokes and techniques have been captured in my mind from watching my mother but also the fact that she was using paint brushes and oils in tubes.

I never liked the smell of it and the mess I remember all over the floor and perhaps this is why I chose Watercolors because they are “cleaner”. I also liked the idea of “water” based medium and watercolor paper which makes it even more pure.

I didn’t have any experience. No professional training. I just started to sketch then using paint out of tubes. At first, I’d use a lot of paint almost no water, I’d paint like I remember my mother painting with oils. Then I started adding water and realized that water makes it so much better.

I started practicing a lot and getting better as I was getting more feel of the paint and water. I got better with my second children’s book. I published it on Amazon. Today when I look at it. it’s such a huge difference between my art now and then. I’m very happy with what I have accomplished. I only did two books then some greeting cards. I got bored with it and didn’t have much motivation to continue painting.

Then in Jan 2016 I did my first video on YouTube I didn’t get much traffic until August 2016. This is when my channel took off. I also started painting in a different way and every single day. My audience has quickly grown to over 200k subscribers, they have become my biggest motivation to paint. Today I love Watercolors for their transparency and vibrancy of colors. I never thought Watercolors can be so colorful and looking so rich on a paper.

I now teach full time online Maria-raczynska.teachable.com and share my knowledge and skills via Patreon as well: www.patreon.com/mariamorjane

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I paint with watercolors. I paint a little bit of everything, I don’t limit myself with a subject. I like challenging myself that’s why you always see on my YouTube channel so many different things: animals, landscapes, seascapes, botanicals, architecture, people, lantern, snow etc. I paint on watercolor papers with watercolors in tubes. I have my favorite brands and share these with my audience. My biggest inspiration is my audience, my students. I paint for them. Teaching is my biggest pleasure. I love to inspire. My artwork is different, it has depth, it has vibrancy – different from traditional washed off watercolor paintings. It also has detail, more detail than traditional watercolors.

Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
I wish I knew from the beginning that you don’t have to use much paint when using watercolors, that it’s all about water, water running through your paper. I teach my students to watch, to study what they see on a paper. that’s the best way to learn to control water and watercolors, by watching it, to judge your next move based on what happens on a paper, not what should be done. To know there’s no rules in art, art is freedom. To paint with a feeling. Even the most beautiful painting “done technically” is not best if it has no feelings.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I welcome everyone to see and follow my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/mariamorjane my Instagram: @maria_morjane I also share a lot more via Patreon www.patreon.com/mariamorjane lastly, I teach online at Maria-raczynska.teachable.com where I create real online classes, to give a feel to my students as they were sitting right next to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mariamorjane.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @maria_morjane
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mariamorjane
• Twitter: @maria_morjane
• Other: www.youtube.com/mariamorjane / www.patreon.com/mariamorjane /
  Maria-raczynska.teachable.com

Image Credit:
All copyrights reserved by Maria Raczynska the artist. All artwork is created by Maria Raczynska.

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