Featured Artist Marsha Olderr

Artist Marsha Olderr presents a collection of quirky, colorful house portraits filled with character. View more of her work by visiting her website.

 

 

As a child, I loved art—color, design, texture, subject matter—just about anything connected to art.

 

 

Since I grew up in Northern Virginia I was able to take advantage of the National Art Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and other world-class art museums located in the Washington, D.C. metro area. I studied and enjoyed amazing art and even had the privilege, along with thousands of other Americans, to view the Mona Lisa when it was on loan to the United States.

 

 

My father was an engineer but was also a committed hobbyist; he was very involved in building model railroads, sailing ships and buildings. Seeing his attention to detail, and inheriting his discerning eye, I developed a deep respect for artistic representation and perspective.

 

 

School provided me with practical instruction in artistic methods and mediums. I was blessed with great teachers who were artists in their own right. I wanted to pursue my passion for art as a career but life’s twists and turns can upend one’s best-laid plans as Robert Burns so aptly described. I’d fallen in love in high school and decided to elope after my first year of college. Although the marriage didn’t last, I received the two best gifts of my life in the form of my two children.

 

 

Raising a family consumed most of my time, but I was creating pencil and charcoal drawings whenever I had free time. I also created a line of dolls that I designed and then sewed from scratch.

 

 

As time went on, I needed to join the workforce to earn money for the family, leaving me even less time to pursue my love of drawing. I worked for a printer and then became an ad rep for a publishing company. Later, my husband and I formed a publishing company that produced books, directories, magazines, guides, maps and catalogs. I was involved in the artistic design of every publication our company produced.

 

 

After we sold our publishing company, I was able to get back to my first love—art. Drawing was fun but I have always loved the use of color; painting, first in watercolors and then in acrylics, gave me an unlimited color palette.

 

 

After I made the switch, I would paint constantly day after day, year after year. I became driven by my desire to advance my skill and develop my own unique style of painting.

 

 

As I grew up, and even now, an appreciation for history was always a part of me. That love of history, along with my love of art, led me to paint houses and buildings. I kept refining my craft and over time developed the style that you see in this feature. Each house takes on a life of its own. I feel like I’m preserving each home’s love and unique spirit through the painting.

 

 

I love all of my paintings and hope you can experience the love and spirit that I experience while I’m painting each of these beautiful homes!

 

Artist Marsh Olderr invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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