Biography

MEET THE ARTIST

Maya Murano is an award-winning, professional watercolor artist who lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. She originally grew up in Oberlin, Ohio, but moved to Wilmington, NC in 2011. Growing up, Maya spent a great deal of time outside, either playing in creeks, mud, building fairy houses or picking fresh ingredients from the gardens. All these things combined definitely have informed her body of work through the years. By working in watercolors, and many other non-toxic and environmentally friendly art mediums, Maya strives to have her art be as earth friendly when possible. Many of her paintings and custom gift items focus on produce, organic shapes and nature’s bounty. You can find her work in galleries, restaurants and private collections throughout the southeast.

Artist Statement

I paint in watercolors because the paints allow me to achieve techniques I cannot replicate in Acrylic or Oil. Watercolors lend themselves to a level of spontaneity I find very engaging. The atmosphere and transparency that the pigments make are something I truly enjoy. When I paint I often find myself simply moving the paint around to find unique and surprising combinations.

Often times I find myself drawn to things simply for the beauty of how it is unique in its repetition. Shells, strawberries, rope, and even palm fronds all have something in common, in that they have similarities and differences in how they repeat. Much like people, the subject matter in my paintings find a way to be uniquely similar, in that there are always things that at our core we have in common, but we also each have our own flourishes that make us who we are. I find immense joy in studying those differences and similarities and discovering new ways to portray the essence of whatever subject matter I am studying.