Pictured | Mariya Dunn
The June meeting of the Art League will be held on Monday, June 30, on the terrace at The Bascom.
A reception will begin at 4:30 P.M. with the meeting following at 5:00. This month’s guest speaker will be Mariya Dunn.
Born in the former USSR, Ms. Dunn moved to the United States in 1999, where she lived in Texas for 20 years until finally settling in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
Much of her inspiration comes from the surrounding natural beauty.
In her youth, she attended four years of formal art school with studies of drawing, watercolor, sculpture and history of arts. She was encouraged to continue her studies with The Academy of Arts, but at that time in the USSR, art was not considered to be a “profession.”
Instead, she attended and graduated medical school and became a physician. She practiced in Odessa, Ukraine, until immigrating to the United States. Here she enjoyed working as a clinical nurse until retiring in 2020.
Mariya has always been moved by the beauty of the world around her and sought to capture it through photography.
Her retirement and move to North Carolina increased that fascination with nature, and photography quickly transitioned to painting in oils, using a multi-layering technique. She considers herself fortunate to have learned from masters like Mark Carder, Jo Ridge Kelly and many others.
She enjoys working in different genres, but her main focus is landscapes, especially those of Western North Carolina.
A member of the Art League of Highlands-Cashiers, her paintings received First Place and Honorable Mention in the club’s 2023 Fall Colors Fine Art Show. Also a member of The Bascom, her works are on display there. She is the sole owner/artist of Mariya Dunn Fine Art.
In her words, “I love painting – trying to capture that elusive magic, which differs from photography. When I am one with nature, canvas and my own feelings, time stops and that’s how my art is born. I am my own biggest critic (after my always supportive husband, of course).”
Please join us for this presentation. Both the reception and presentation are free and open to the public.
by Zach Claxton,
Art League of Highlands Cashiers
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