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Deborah Maklowski

Painter, Pastels & Color Pencils often combined with acrylic & gouache; Mixed media

Deborah Maklowski is an accomplished artist in colored pencil, acrylic, pastel, and mixed media, who began studying drawing and painting with private instructors at the age of 9. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and maintains her professional development through workshops with nationally known instructors, networking with her fellow artists, and a focused studio and plein air practice.

Deborah is a dual signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, currently serving on the CPSA national governing board as President.  She is also a past president and signature member of the Maryland Pastel Society, a juried member of the Pastel Society of America and the Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society (MPSGS) of Washington D.C., and a member of the MidAtlantic Plein Air Painters Association, the Maryland Federation of Art, and the Cider Painters of America. Her award-winning work has been juried into numerous national and regional exhibitions and plein air competitions and is included in private collections across the U.S.

Deborah also teaches introductory and advanced colored pencil classes and workshops in central Maryland.

Artist’s Statement

Deborah works in a variety of media and genres, including impressionist landscapes in acrylic, colored pencil, and pastel; representational drawings in graphite and ink; and landscape-inspired abstracts in colored pencil and mixed media. With a focus on excellence in composition, Deborah’s primary goal is to manipulate color, value, line, and edges to draw the viewer into and around the picture plane, in order to create the illusion of atmosphere, mood, and depth, and to provide an engaging mental space where the viewer is invited to find his or her own compelling story in the work. Deborah never has a “message”; instead, she creates art for the deep fulfillment she finds in overcoming the challenges inherent in the art-making process, for the satisfaction of learning to master the materials, for the fun of occasional happy accidents, and for the sheer visual and physical joy of it. She seeks to share with the viewer the sublime beauty she finds in the world all around her, in forms both natural and man-made.

Deborah’s art is available at the HorseSpirit Arts Gallery in Savage, Maryland.

Download the Artist’s full, detailed resume.