Mara Balodis is an artist living on Pine Island in Southwest Florida. She is a graduate of Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, a former art teacher in South Jersey and a 40 plus year veteran of arts and craft shows in Florida and the Northeast. Along with her husband she created and sold hand painted canvas products featuring wildlife and nautical designs.

The pandemic in 2020 forced them to stop travelling north and cancelled all shows, so Mara started doing paintings on canvas again. For inspiration she turned to her own backyard, doing a lot of birdwatching and photography. Rainy days in Southwest Florida bring lots of birds to watch. Egrets, ibis, a variety of herons, sandhill cranes and even an occasional spoonbill or two.

She also used some of the designs she had been painting on handbags for many years, including the Sanibel lighthouse. When they started to visit Sanibel again they took numerous photos on Lighthouse Beach. Many of her current paintings were inspired by these visits. After Hurricane Ian hit the islands, before and after scenes of the lighthouse and surrounding area became the focal point of her art.

Six months after Ian’s 4 foot surge wiped out her studio Mara was busy painting in her newly renovated space. Some of her paintings survived, others were lost or ruined, new ones are being created daily. She is still showing her paintings in local shows and promoting her work on social media.

“I paint what speaks to me and I prefer to let my paintings speak for themselves.”

Mara Balodis, Mara Balodis Art

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