Featured Artist Maria Stella Quezada

Artist Maria Stella Quezada presents a delightful collection of paintings that capture nature’s shimmering glory and color. Find more of her work on her website.

 

 

My name is Maria Stella Quezada (aka Maruja). I was born in Santiago, Chile and moved to the United States many years ago.

 

 

Since I was a child, I have always been amazed at seeing a starry night sky, a broad landscape view of the countryside with all the wonderful colors of flowers, as well as the width and depth of a seemingly unending ocean where the sea touches the sky in the horizon.

 

 

All of these views have always been inspirational to me, because of the beauty of creation and the immensity of the universe. Figures of human beings and animals in motion are fascinating to me as well.

 

 

Imagination is an amazing gift all of us have. When I started painting, I made an effort to try and capture some of the mystery and wonder of shape, color and movement that is life in all its forms.

 

 

One particular theme that captured my attention is the variety of trees we see in wooded areas all over the country. Of particular interest to me are those patches of colorful aspen trees that appear to shimmer with an inner light.

 

 

Especially noticeable is the vibrant yellow that appears in the fall that is in contrast with the tall, tube-like trunks of white in the midst of the sound of “quaking” leaves.

 

 

I consider myself a portrait painter as well. I painted portraits of my daughters and grandkids when they were growing up. One of those portraits was awarded first prize in an exhibition at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC. I was commissioned to paint the portrait of the first female physician graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1923, Dr. Theresa Ora Snaith, MD. It now hangs in Davidge Hall, a University of Maryland gallery in Baltimore.

 

 

Flowers are an essential part of nature and I like them very much, whether they are poppies, irises, amaryllis, sunflowers, daisies or others. One variety I particularly like is the allium, that round, colorful flower that grows atop a very long and thin stem. The ones I saw a few years ago at the Boston Commons immediately captured my attention, so I decided to paint some of them.

 

 

The human figure and images of animals are also of interest, horses in particular. I sold one small painting of horses galloping across a shallow river and making a big splash. I also painted a larger picture of four horses depicting the symbols of life, death, famine and war.

 

 

I like to express action and movement in my paintings, such as painting Flamenco dancers because they represent life, joy and energy.

 

Artist Maria Stella Quezada invites you to see her portfolio on her personal website and on Faso.com.

 

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