Maria Morrissey: Will attend the Art Institute of Chicago to continue creating mixed media artwork that is meaningful to her

Then 7-year-old Maria Morrissey sat down to paint for the first time, her dad looking over her shoulder from his own canvas. His depiction of a weeping willow tree was vibrant with color, the watercolor brushing neatly onto the paper. Maria did her best to copy her dad’s brushstrokes, but her tree ended up looking like what most 7-year-olds paint — a green blob. 

Since then, Maria has combined her own ideas with tips from her dad to create paintings, drawings and graphics that are meaningful to her. She currently showcases these creations on her Instagram account, @artbymars.

This fall, Maria will take her art to the next level at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she’ll have access to resources like galleries through the school and city that will help her art reach a larger audience. 

“Through the [Art Institute of Chicago], we do galleries where I would show my art and then people could buy it from there,” Maria said. “I would love to sell my art. It’s like a dream.”

Maria’s artwork is influenced by memories and pictures in her head that come from routine experiences like listening to music and looking outside her window. There’s a corner stocked with an easel, paints, canvases, brushes and palettes in her room at home where she paints and designs whenever she feels inspired. 

Her twin sister and senior Ella Morrissey loves popping into Maria’s room and hanging out with her while she paints. Ella admires the fact that Maria does a variety of art ranging from landscapes to portraits that are relevant to herself.

“She’s just very passionate about it,” Ella said. “I think it’s her calling.”

One of Maria’s favorite art pieces is what used to be her bedroom door. Inspired by a Michelangelo painting titled, “The Creation of Adam” and with no access to a canvas in the middle of a pandemic, Maria began painting on the door to her bedroom with art supplies she found around her house.

When her family had to move in August of 2020, Maria couldn’t take her door with them. Instead, she snapped a picture of it and turned that picture into a graphic design representing social distancing and quarantine using Photoshop, which she taught herself to use to create unique designs.

“I just go into Photoshop and mess around a little bit,” Maria said. “I have an iPad with a stylus or Apple Pen, so I use Procreate a lot.”

East drawing teacher Emma Chalk has watched Maria’s art grow throughout her senior year. Maria’s willingness to push herself and keep trying is what Chalk believes will help her succeed in art school. 

“[She] is always willing to push herself to try harder and do better and is always looking to improve, which is just awesome,” Chalk said.

Maria is excited to continue working on her mixed media projects at the Art Institute of Chicago because it provides her with the opportunity to continue doing what she loves.

“I feel like in every piece that I do, there’s a memory to it,” Maria said. “There’s always a meaning behind what I do.”