THE STORY

I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and as soon as my parents recognized my creative tendencies, they fostered my development as an artist. All the years spent under their roof I received paints and pencils on my birthdays and all the time and space I needed for my projects. They took my art seriously, so I could too.

I've been pursuing art ever since. I took a couple detours, but here I am again, back home, back in the paint.

I graduated from Kenyon College in 2002 with a Studio Art degree. In the first days of freshman year at Kenyon, I met my mentor, and days later, my future husband. There I learned how to draw and paint what I see, not what I know. My very raw, unfocused skills became sharper and deeper.

At the end of senior year, I took scissors to the unsuccessful paintings in my studio that I couldn't stand to look at anymore, and I made necklaces out of the pretty little pieces.

I started developing a line of handmade necklaces: miniature, abstract watercolor paintings framed with acrylic glass and copper or silver. Those first necklaces were very rough, but the concept was the springboard for my entire business.

When graduation came around, what I really wanted to do was start a jewelry business. It had always been my dream to make and sell my work - I played "store" much more than "house" as a kid.

So hours after I got my diploma, my sweetheart and I drove straight from Gambier, Ohio to Alexandria, Virginia. We set up camp, and I set up shop.

For the next four years, I owned and operated a web-based business, Made By Molly. What an amazing time it was. It required me to grow up, toughen up, and work harder than I ever had before.

I got hitched and moved into DC where I have a sunny studio with a woodburning stove. Painting fell by the wayside, but that's what had to happen in order to be successful.

Gradually, though, I started to realize that I wasn't completely happy or healthy without painting. Jewelry helped to keep my hands from rusting, but I was bothered by the feeling that I wasn't utilizing myself fully.

For a while I did both jewelry and painting, and that was fine, but each clearly deserved more time. I work best when all my eggs are in one basket. Which brings us to the present, to this website, devoted entirely to my artwork. One basket, full of eggs.

I will add a full artist statement to this page eventually. For now, a little on why and how I paint what I do.

One thing I know - I can't wait for inspiration; I find it only when I'm working. My paper doesn't stay white for long. I immediately begin layering and layering the paint, creating textures, trying to keep it loose and spontaneous, letting the background evolve.

I have a plan, but I leave holes in it because I know my best pieces are those in which I surprise myself. Aesthetically, I have one simple goal: make it beautiful.

When it comes to my subjects, I choose them intuitively, I find them everywhere, and I'm always looking. The inspiration could be a photograph, an object, something I saw while walking through the city, a phrase in one of my old sketchbooks, a phone call, a disappointment. I'm trying to capture something. I'm trying to make it speak. In a way, all of my work is fueled by music. It's gotta be worthy of a song.

The painting-a-day blog helps me to keep working. Momentum, I've found, is the key to my success as an artist. If I pause for too long after I finish a painting, doubt inevitably creeps in about the next one.

The small, daily paintings help me to keep the gears greased while serving as a sketchbook where I can develop my voice as an artist, both stylistically and conceptually.

I'm hoping this blog will help me to make my large, long-term paintings more exciting and more honest.

Thank you so much for your interest. If you have an questions for me, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email.