Maureen Engle

For her, the fun of painting is never knowing the endgame until the painting ‘reads’ and she puts the brush aside.

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Maureen opens the door to spontaneity when she stands in front of a canvas. She begins with a single organic subject in mind and adds an emotional component to start a narrative. Acrylic paint is put on in layers with brush and palette knife, mixing directly on the canvas, often with Adele’s love songs playing in the background. Trees begin to sway. Flowers whisper. Water dances. Sometimes the subject disappears and emotion dominates, resulting in a pure abstract painting. Maureen enjoys experimenting with color, temperature and capturing the essence of the subject.

Her first love was watercolor and Maureen creates loose and lively paintings in this medium. Again, unexpected color and emotion dominate. Open to inspiration, you may find hints of oil pastel, graphite or collage in her works.

A native New Englander, Maureen graduated from the University of Virginia and then spent a year in Provence, France, where she began to experiment with a loose and fresh approach to painting. She is a popular painting instructor at Spruill and Alpharetta Art Centers and conducts workshops in palette knife painting and watercolor. She was recently Artist-in-Residence in Alaska, summer of 2017, and received first place in work by an instructor at Spruill Gallery’s 2017 juried exhibit.