Mariann Humphrey  –  Born and raised in San Francisco, one might suspect Mariann has a history of exposure to the arts. And she has. Mariann loved all the arts: music, theatre, and visual art, and eagerly raised her hand to volunteer to be involved in whatever was needed, as doing so moved her soul and spirit. So, it is not surprising that shortly after moving to Carson City in 2019, when Mariann learned of the NAA Gallery through a fitness friend at the Anytime Fitness Center, she joined NAA.

Mariann’s visual art expression began in tole painting in 1988. She loved the use of design and color that she learned through her instructors but sought to make her own designs. By the early 2000’s, she was pushing her artistic boundaries through a different medium: pan dry pastels. Her favorite subjects are flowers and pets.

To Mariann, flowers represent God’s beauty in nature and symbolize human emotions. Making her own interpretation of this brings her happiness. Some of her best works are the oversized flowers depicting human feelings. The subject of animals, on the other hand, relates to personal experience. When she was young, the family had plenty of dogs, but cats are her favorite…which she now has plenty. Her pet portraits bring out the love humans have for their fur babies.

No matter what the subject, Mariann faces the challenge of creating the needed hue, its tones, and values, through the blending of a limited color palette provided in the pan pastels medium. As she has a good understanding of color mixing and a lot of patience, the result is a work of depth and rich color.

During her short residence in Nevada, her work has already won several awards at local galleries. She is new to the show change crew but likes all the buzz of activity on such a day. She finds the friendly atmosphere of the gallery and the interaction with the other artist members inspiring. The gallery gives her a reason to make her art and a place for others to see it.