My name is MB Wendt, short for Maribeth, and I was born in St Joseph, Michigan...directly across the lake from Chicago. I am an american impressionistic artist working mainly in watercolor, gouache and acrylics...sometimes combining all three to achieve the effect that I'm after. A perpetual student, I continue to study about art every day, realizing that it will be a life long endeavor.
Although I have painted on and off all of my life, the early part of my artistic career was devoted to music which I started at age 5. About 20 years ago I switched my primary focus from performing and teaching piano and guitar to painting because I wanted to make sure I had enough time left to hone my skills...to paint that 'perfect picture.'...the one that says exactly what I am trying to get across to my viewer. Still working on that one!
The inspiration for my art comes from my life experience, which has been rich and varied. I have been fortunate to live in interesting places including California, Nashville, Rhode Island and Key West and lived on a 40 ft sailboat for 8 years traveling the Great Lakes, Chesapeake, Florida Keys, Bahamas and the Gulf Coast of Florida. Currently my home is in a small, rural town on a lake in central Florida, surrounded by cattle ranches and wildlife.
The focus of many of my paintings is in paying homage to places that are gone or will soon be...working waterfronts and fishing fleets, small towns, fish shacks, classic boats, family farms, etc. Having resided on or near the water most of my life I am naturally drawn to nautical subjects and paint them often.
If someone says that my work 'makes them feel peaceful' then I know I have achieved my goal.
