Artist Highlight: Mariska Breland

Who is Mariska Breland?

"I have always been drawn to art, and as a child, it took up nearly all of my time. But, with a creative profession to occupy my right brain, the paints were put high on the shelf where they stayed for over 15 years. A visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, a little free time, and a chance meeting with a wonderful artist got me interested in making art again.

I say now I paint because it’s my meditation, and in the end, there is something to show other than a calm mind (which is a wonderful by-product of the process). I am drawn to images of solitude and reflection, and sometimes loneliness and loss. My art is contemplative, and there is always a fair amount of my soul in it – my mood works its way in with the paints. The works are my mirror – showing the world the place I was spiritually and emotionally at the time when I painted them. I am currently exploring abstract portraiture, which draws from my background in graphite realistic portraits and leans towards my hoped-for future in perfecting the abstract human form."