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Marcia, your style of art is very ethereal; exceptionally beautiful. What influences in your life helped to shape your style?

Thank you, Sumara.  Nature, with her infinite beauty, has shaped my style.   I began my career as a realist, painting botanicals, seashells, animals and anything else from the natural world that caught my eye.  That provided art lessons straight from the Source. Capturing Nature’s ideal beauty has always been a beacon and my style emerged as a consequence of that pursuit. Of course, I have been influenced by the Old Masters, the Symbolists and the Pre-Raphaelites.

At what age did you become interested in art, and how? 

As soon as I could pick up a crayon, I began to make images and play with color.  My mother tells me that at my 5^th birthday party, I abandoned my guests in favor of a new box of crayons I received.  I don’t think she has, to this day, completely forgiven me.  I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t think of myself as an artist and love creating art.  

Have you always worked with oils or have you used other mediums as well? 

I used to work with transparent watercolor and am a member of the Ohio Water Color Society. Many of my awards were associated with that medium. Like most artists, I love to draw and have worked a lot in colored pencil. I still do commercial illustrations with good old graphite pencils. However, my greatest love is oil simply for the range of techniques it affords. And it doesn’t hurt that one can paint over mistakes.  It’s a very good medium for intuitive work. 

How would you say you have evolved as an artist?   

The greatest artistic step I have ever taken was to begin to paint strictly from my imagination. That has been so liberating and exhilarating.   I learn a bit with every painting I do, whether it is successful or not.  Actually a failed painting is sometimes a better teacher.  The evolution of my style was a path well taken and one that I believe answers my calling as an artist.

Your art contains a lot of symbols; do they have any special meaning? 

They do. My artwork incorporates symbolic elements drawn from personal, mythic and archetypal imagery.  Using symbols as psychic touchstones, images emerge as visions from the soul.  

Symbols, although containing elements of the universal, can be personal but the archetypes belong to us all and serve as a universal language.  I think that when people have an emotional response to my work, they are responding to the power of the archetype, to its ethereal wisdom through which we may discover the wellspring of our collective soul.

How is that you have a degree in Fine Arts from Miami University but you're also a registered nurse, a social worker and a Reiki practitioner?  

That’s a complex question covering many years, so let me just say that I was attracted to helping professions. All have been both challenging and rewarding.

How do they fit into your world of art? 

They fit in the same way that all life experience shapes the artist and informs the art.  I think that there is an ethereal connection between healing work and artwork that is intended to add beauty and grace to the world.  Both adhere to an altruistic ethos.  I have been pleased to note that a disproportionately high percentage of those in healing professions are attracted to my art.  Whatever the connection, I feel that beauty is a kind of health food for the soul.

What brought you to the Midwest and do you feel that your location has any influence on your art? 

My husband and I have our roots in this area but have lived in the south and may someday return.  For now, we are blessed to live in a wooded area with an old growth forest in our backyard.  The trees have obviously influenced my art as their energy has nurtured me for so many years.  I love to receive emails and letters from people who share an affinity for trees and are inspired by my anthropomorphic tree imagery.

You've created book and magazine covers for many different publications; how did that come about? Did you go to them or did they come to you?   

There was a bit of both, some luck and some hard work.  I much prefer the former.

Please tell us about some of the awards that you have won? 

Well, most were acquired when I was more active in exhibiting in juried shows.  I used to have my resume, with awards, on my website but changed it to a pared-down version figuring it was not of real interest to most folks.  The one that I am most proud of was from an All Alumni Show from my alma mater, Miami University.  That happened many years after graduation and was nice because I was a realist painter (with hints of my current style) in college at a time when realism certainly was not in vogue. There’s a dual aspect to juried shows that can be tough on artists.  They’re fun for the award winners and not so much for those who don’t make the show.  I know as I’ve experienced both. 

Do you have a favorite piece of art that you've created; if so, why?

I am usually fond of my most recent paintings for an all too brief period of time and then begin to see how I might have done better.  That is the way of most artists, I think…always looking to improve.  There are some paintings that were created with such an easy flow that I feel they were “given” to me, and for those I am especially grateful.

What have been your most successful marketing techniques?

I’m not really sure. Marketing is not my strong suit and I have to force myself to make the effort.  I think persevering and trying new things is important.  The type of marketing depends somewhat on the type of art one is doing.  When I was more of a traditional painter, juried shows were an easy avenue for sales and exposure.  But when I sort of went my own way, artistically speaking, marketing became more of a challenge.  I was creating visionary art before it was as widely accepted as it is today.  One of my most popular images hardly drew comment when it was first exhibited. Years later, the painting sold within days of being placed in a gallery and I received two commissions to re-paint it, all within a few weeks time.  I guess, marketing aside, its season had arrived.

I am not one to give advice in this area as I sort of take the “if you paint it, they will come” attitude.  I have seen the power of marketing, especially in the art world, but sometimes wonder if true art and commercialism can be good bedfellows. 

Where do you see yourself going with your art? 

My only plan is to simply allow the process to continue unfolding and see where the muse takes me.  It has been a grand adventure so far.  I’ve met so many wonderful people and know that I’ve touched a few hearts along the way.  That’s a lot to be grateful for.

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists to help them more fully develop their talents? 

Believe in yourself, stay true to your artistic vision, study the greats from every age and paint with a joyful heart!

To view more of Marcia Snedecor's beautiful artwork, please visit her website: www.etherealart.com.  If you would like to send her an email, her address is: jsnedeco@columbus.rr.com.

All works are copyright.  Permission to use these images in any way must be obtained from the artist.