Artist Spotlight
 

There was a time in Marita’s journey as an artist that her mission became to discover who she was on the canvas. Though she had been drawing and painting since she a young girl, there came a time when she began experimenting with new ideas and mediums and really wanted to know if this gift was a blessing or a curse. Marita had come to the realization that she could pretty much draw or paint anything in any style from abstract, to extreme realism and work with oil, acrylic, pastels... just about everything, but she wasn’t content. She sought for that period of time and came to a point of acceptance and contentment of her paintings and herself. Today, Marita is excited about waking up each morning. She is ready to paint and draw. There is an excitement in the results. “It is me on canvas, Marita says with a level of peace now, and I feel the voice is my own.”
As an artist, Marita is a huge fan of color. It is what inspires her. She loves the impact it has on people and she likes how it influences her work. Bright, bold and vibrant is the world that defines her and reaching out to others with her gift through teaching, creating and making connections with others is what opens the solitary world of the artist to a world of human connection. When someone responds to a piece of art, there is a strong connection. The connection of art has stayed with Marita since she was a young girl. Her most vivid memory is of a horse she drew. In third grade, she and her brother drew a horse. Then, they both asked their mom which drawing was the best. She is certain her mom smiled and just continued to support them both. She also remembers drawing her family in crayons (this was before she even started school). There were four children in the family and all could draw well, but Marita chose it as a career. Passion is what has kept the fire burning to create and not merely talent.
Marita loves to paint flowers, oak and cypress trees, and people, but not in a frozen, portrait way. She has traveled a lot and believes Louisiana has the greatest trees. Her preference is to work with liquid acrylics on canvas and watercolor on paper. The fluid like quality is what she likes since it is unpredictable. “I like the challenge of manipulating the washes to get the results I am looking for and the fact that my ideas grow and change with the painting, depending on the reaction of the wash to the previous wash, Marita shares. “I also paint in oil and acrylic, but mainly for murals and commissions.”
Right now, Marita showcases her work at The Funky Palette (upstairs at Circa 1857) on Government Street. She has also participated in several of the Denham Springs Fine Art Shows and recently had a piece accepted into the Louisiana Water Color Society 38th International Show. LPB accepted two of her pieces as part of their juried Art and Travel Fundraiser. These will hang at the Louisiana State Museum May 10th - June 5th.
Regarding her personal goals, illustrating a children’s book has been a longtime desire. It is becoming a reality this year. Marita got her first contract to illustrate a picture book called The Cajun Cornbread Boy by Author, Dianne de LasCasas. She hopes to get more illustrating jobs, but for now, her love of teaching young children art gives her a sense of freedom. She loves their innocent vision and how they just seem to have an innate sense of where some things belong. She teaches at the Funky Palette and will work at the Shaw Center’s art camps.
“I am extremely blessed and aim to illustrate more books and to market my art in other cities and just paint, paint, paint,” smiles Marita. There is a need to paint. It is not about whether she wants to paint or she might…it is that she must.
One artist she admires to this day is Georgia O’Keefe. Marita feels Georgia was before her times and that she had a great sense of who she was and what she wanted on canvas. Then, there is Stephen Quiller. His use of color just zings and zips and she likes his compositions too. At The Funky Palette, Leigh Ann, Michelle, Hannah, Nancy, Jean, and other artists keep Marita’s creative juices flowing.
It seems to me Marita Gentry will keep going and her beautiful creations will stand the test of time. After all, she has discovered her own voice. Her website is www.studiomarita.com . For more information, view Marita’s website or call The Funky Palette at 636-2008.