Maria Witmer-Rich’s watercolor artwork is not only a counterpoint from her work as a chemist in her life, but a form of meditation for her outside of the lab.
“I will say that I am a scientist who is an artist. You see that in my paintings,” said Witmer-Rich, who is originally from Alliance and a current Bainbridge resident. “I’ve definitely had those funny moments where I have my paints and paintbrushes in my car, and I’m going from the lab.”
Watercolor paintings are currently on display at the Geauga County Public Library Bainbridge Branch, located at 17222 Snyder Road. For Witmer-Rich, this is the first time she has had a solo exhibit aside from the various juried art shows she has been in.
The first time Witmer-Rich interacted with watercolor was in a high school art class. Since that time, she wanted to do more. As a graduate-level chemist, Witmer-Rich believes that her scientific background allows her to notice and replicate the fine detail in everyday objects, she said in a statement. With a focus on still life and flowers, Witmer-Rich often uses a technique where she leaves and comes back to paintings frequently, allowing specific sections of the painting to fully dry to allow for high defined detailing.
“I loved it right away and it felt at home,” Witmer-Rich said. “Sure enough in college, I had some extra credit hours and I took a watercolor class. Some of my paintings date back to that time period.”
Although she had a passion for it, some of Witmer-Rich’s paintings went unfinished for a while as she got busy with life and her kids. Still, she knew they had promise and picked up painting again 10 years ago.
“I had some loved ones who were sick and I felt like I needed an outlet, and I just started painting again,” Witmer-Rich said. “I did, at that point, do some classes at the Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls.”
Witmer-Rich worked with Darlene Jackson, a local watercolor painter and resource from Hiram. It was then that Witmer-Rich was able to learn some new techniques, finish unfinished paintings and created new ones as well. As her watercolor art journey began again, another segment of art came along for Witmer-Rich.
“I work with theaters. My kids have been involved in theater and it kind of just started as the mom volunteering,” Witmer-Rich said. “Over time, people would hire me to do stuff for theater productions.”
Prior to moving back to the Cleveland area in 2003, Witmer-Rich attended college and grad school out of state.
“I’m kind of a weird artist because I don’t have any degrees. My bachelors and masters degree are in chemistry, so it really is like a hobby for me,” Witmer-Rich said. “It can feel like whiplash sometimes. The science environment tends to be cut and dry, and art tends to be more emotional. For me, I really enjoy that. It gives me a chance to express different sides. If I have a painting I’m enjoying, time is suspended.”
Most of Witmer-Rich’s watercolor artwork are from a three dimensional object. A philosophy that Witmer-Rich agrees with is that when people paint from a photograph, because the image has essentially been translated to two dimensions, they may lose a little bit of depth, she said.
“There’s just something a little more vibrant when you start with something that is three dimensional, so for example, this butterfly painting,” Witmer-Rich said as she pointed to her painting on the wall in the library. “I found that butterfly in my yard. Sometimes it’s about here’s a thing and I want to paint that. I gravitate toward things like flowers and living things. That’s the majority of what I paint. That’s where I find my home.”
Over the years, Witmer-Rich has experimented with her artwork such as doing geometric paintings. For her, it’s a departure.
“This right here has a collage component to it,” Witmer-Rich said as she pointed to another piece of artwork in the library. “That is a real nest I found that I deconstructed and glued on, so that is completely different. Here and there, I’ll have an idea and I’ll want to play around with that.”
Witmer-Rich hopes to grow more as an artist going forward in her watercolor journey, she said.
“I feel like I have a limitation because I’m not a classically trained artist, so I don’t know much about the basics — composition stuff. I sort of just paint,” Witmer-Rich said. “I feel like I have a lot I could learn. It’s interesting because different people ask me questions I should know. That’s maybe something I can grow in over time.”
Witmer-Rich’s exhibit at the library will be on display until December this year. The exhibit can be viewed during regular business hours outside of the large meeting rooms to the left once entered into the lobby. The tulip painting on display was a new piece Witmer-Rich decided to create for the exhibit.
“I’m really delighted to be able to share it. I had other spring-focused paintings and I wanted to complete that,” Witmer-Rich said. “Quite a few of these were just in boxes. They had been underappreciated, so I matted and framed at least seven paintings for the exhibit. It’s been fun to pull those out and give them an opportunity.”
Witmer-Rich has hopes of inspiring others and hopes people are able to learn from her that they don’t actually have to be a trained artist in order to be an artist, she said. Although it took her a while to call herself an artist, because of her background as a chemist, Witmer-Rich has owned that title proudly over the years.
“One of my favorite stories is when I was a kid, I didn’t view myself as an artist. Fast forward to high school, I remember I was sitting with this friend of mine,” Witmer-Rich said. “He was very good at art and he was drawing this really cool sketch. I said I wish I could draw like that and he was like, ‘You can. Everyone can. You just have to concentrate.’ Ever since that moment, he was right. That’s when I really started changing the way I thought about art.”
Going forward, Witmer-Rich has new painting ideas in mind to make a part of her journey.
“I have some paintings people like a lot that I would like to make other versions of,” Witmer-Rich said. “We can all be artists and sometimes, it’s really about how you view yourself relating to art versus any talents or capabilities. I encourage people that art is for everyone. Don’t be afraid to give it a shot.”
