ARTIST STATEMENTS

Friends Helping Friends

MAC Painting Studio Artists

This exhibition showcases the works of artists who participate in the MAC’s open studio program. The artists meet on Tuesday mornings with the goal of helping each other to improve their art through discussion and constructive feedback. All artists working in painting and drawing are welcome.

KEN JOHNSON

As a retired architect, I approach painting with a deep appreciation for composition, structure, and spatial relationships. My background in architecture informs my sensitivity to balance, proportion, and rhythm within each work. I explore the intersection of design and expression through a variety of media, including oil, acrylic, gouache, pastel, and acrylic pen. While I enjoy experimenting with diverse materials and techniques, my primary focus remains on landscape painting. My creative process centers on conveying the character and atmosphere of a scene through bold, gestural strokes and intentional markings. Working within a limited time frame allows me to capture the immediacy of my impressions and to emphasize emotional resonance rather than literal representation. Each piece reflects an ongoing dialogue between observation and intuition—an attempt to translate the essence of place and moment into visual form. Ultimately, my paintings serve as a continuation of my architectural practice, where structure meets spontaneity, and design gives way to expression.

LEATHA LEMEN

People are my favorites. Drawing portraits in pencil allows me a measure of control that wet media does not yet. In retirement years, meeting with artists in Open Studio is camaraderie and learning from them other media which I have enjoyed trying.

MARY MELTON

I retired and moved to Grand Rapids three years ago.  After settling in, I started looking for new friends and hobbies.  Luckily, a thoughtful neighbor suggested I try open studio at the MAC. Even though I had very little art experience, I was fortunate to find some very patient and supportive mentors there.

Illustrated fairy tales and fantasy novels have been favorites of mine since childhood. The art skills I’m learning at open art and through other local art groups are helping me to transfer the imaginary world onto paper. Most of my art will be used in a fantasy book I’m writing and illustrating for my grandchildren.

CAROL MORRILL

My eighth-grade art teacher suggested I spend my time elsewhere, but Nora Stevens, day after day, insisted art was 1% inspiration and 99 % perspiration. I had small children and a fulltime teaching position when I invested in basic supplies and took two lessons from Nora. Thirty years later I strolled into the Mac with a handful of dried up Grumbacher tubes and two brushes.  Keith Thompson slashed them open, pressed them into a palette and said, “Let’s paint.”  

Since then, it’s been a process of letting go and following the water.  I start with pigments, good paper, and shape before a corresponding story emerges. To those I apply the learned artistic principles and invite the viewer in.  For me, good art is transactional.

LEEANN RYAN

About 15 years ago a friend invited me to an oil painting class. I was hooked the moment my brush made contact with the canvas. The weekly class provided an after work, creative stress relief for me. My studio class time ended with Covid. 

I moved to the area in 2022 and now plan to renew my passion for painting. I’m thankful to Mary for inviting me to Open Studio and looking forward to learning watercolor techniques and drawing skills to improve my painting.

KEITH THOMPSON

I like to draw.  Sometimes I draw with paint. Every now and again I like the result. I’m not trying to make any philosophical statement. I just love process and that is all.

AMANDA WILDE

Being disabled takes a lot of the rush out of life. Days turn into weeks and months and new perspectives are revealed. Painting takes time. Many revisions later, each brushstroke bears it's own memories. From blank paper, it is transformed into something unique. There is joy in creating something where before there was nothing. Art creates purpose and community, both hard to find in our bustling modern world. 

There are many quotes about how art is a metaphor for life, a reflection of our mad world. But art existed long before civilization, long before our days became a frenzy of activity. Humans evolved to be predators, and predators are not built to be busy all the time. We are designed to be "lazy". To sit, to talk, to think, and to dream. Once, there was time to make art. And that is how our brains are wired. To be human is to make art.

In cultures where downtime is valued, people live longer, more satisfying lives. Humans need time to relax and enjoy each other's company. Our social needs are built into our very genes. Here and now, we need to make time for joy. We must carve it out of busy schedules and prioritize it. Let us come together and make time, make friendships, make art.