| Mary Heussenstamm was painting "in her mind" before she had
even held a paintbrush. When she was 59, she quit work as a
Registered Nurse caring for terminally ill patients and purchased art
materials.
"I knew watercolors would be my medium. I so loved their
transparency, their cleanliness, their beauty and their
challenge".
She discovered that she had an instinctive talent with
watercolors. She knew what she wanted her paintings to look like,
so, not allowing instructors to influence her, she developed her own
style. Using only one brush and seven colors, Mary completes a portrait in
45 minutes and does NOT touch it again.
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Initially, she made deals with business owners who would exchange a
portrait for referrals. Her reputation grew by "word of
mouth" as people saw her paintings hanging in businesses and were
referred to her. She painted "commissioned" portraits
seven days a week, sometimes two or three a day.
Then, Mary realized she wanted to select her own models.
Looking for character in their faces, she began approaching people on
the street - day laborers, old men, prostitutes, drug addicts, gang
bangers and pimps. She would ask them to pose and offer $10 for
the 45 minutes the portrait would take.
Going into Los Angeles neighborhoods, she developed a body of work
around various ethnic groups. Watercolor Portraits,
Painted on the Streets of Los Angeles, her second book, is compiled
of those paintings done on the street. |
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