art treatise
a little bit brighter
Painting the world through the lens of optimism
Sby Kathryn Manis HADE MARET has always seen the world a little
bit brighter than it is.
This rosy perspective is on full display in her
paintings, which depict people and scenes
from daily life. Combining bright color palettes
with familiar but slightly abstracted settings,
Maret creates images that show
life through a beautiful, captivating lens and remind us of our
own best memories.
In “Wheels,” she
depicts a line of beach
cruiser bikes parked
along a vibrant coral
pink wall. The bikes
are rendered in pale
yellows, greens, and
purples, with whimsical
pops of turquoise.
This blend of shades is
reminiscent of the colorful
beach houses lining
any island’s coast. The
absence of people in
the painting encourages
the viewer to imagine
the bike owners running
along the beach or pausing
to refuel with cool,
sweet ice cream. Viewers
might even fill in the
details of the scene
based on their own summer
Wheels, 12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas.
remembrances.
The desire to see the
best in her surroundings was born during an upbringing in the
small town of Louisburg, North Carolina.
“My daughter always says, ‘You see things brighter than they
really are,’ and I guess that I always have,” Maret says. “I grew up in
a very small town — lots of plowed fields and broken down buildings
— and I always had this vision that they were newer, brighter,
and prettier than they actually were.”
Maret likes to paint en plein air, capturing the natural beauty
of the Wilmington area and scenic locales encountered on her
travels. But she is also a mom, and the situations she encounters
in her own life provide the basis for many of her pieces.
“I paint the world around me,” she says. “Ideally that would
be traveling, taking pictures or plein air. But realistically I’m
58
WBM july 2018
at ball games, a school
field trip, on the beach,
or at a farmers’ market.
When the kids were
little, I couldn’t get out
as much and did mostly
studio painting. Now
I’m able to go out and
paint a little bit more
often.”
“Reflections” is one
of the pieces inspired
by her children. In this
intimate 11”x14” painting,
two young children
play in the sand at the
beach. A young girl’s
blond head is bowed
beside the slightly taller
brunette head of her
brother as they examine
the wet sand in front
of them. Sun shines on
their bare shoulders and
reflects off the lighter
strands of their hair,
and their reflections ripple in the shallow water pooled around
them. The scene radiates with warmth, despite the ambiguous
grey-brown backdrop. The children’s faces are obscured, allowing
viewers to see themselves or their loved ones in this quiet,
heartwarming scene.