Intuitive Art Records Personal Experiences

  

When not in St. Petersburg or summering in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina, well-known artist Mary Alice Braukman is oftentimes traveling across the country conducting lectures and workshops in her field of expertise-experimental water media painting, collage and assemblages - or serving as juror in national, state and regional water media exhibitions.

   "As a water media artist, my life experiences become filtered in my eye, mind and heart," says Braukman.  "They are then transformed into my paintings of joy and passion and adventure and reflection."

   With a wide array of published and collected work to her credit, Braukman is featured in several local collections.  Previously an art teacher in Hillsborough County and a school district art consultant in Denver, Colorado, Braukman was also a past president of the Florida Watercolor Society (in '90 and '91) and past director of Kanuga Watercolor Workshops in Hendersonville, North Carolina, for 17 years.

   "I am not afraid of color or texture," says Braukman.  "I want the viewer to crawl into my work and walk through each step of motion or intensity or serenity."

   By using a wide assortment of textural surfaces, she introduces her intermediate and advanced painting students to new concepts and ideas.  For Braukman, inspiring her students to create a unique visual personal statement is her ultimate goal.

   "It is the act of painting that is important to me," Braukman says.  "By watching the design developing, I begin to create a more personal statement.  It is intuitive and records my personal experiences - my journey."

by Reynolds Fuller
duPont Registry
May/June 2010