Voices of Experience - Maria Coryell-Martin

Storm Front Watercolor 30 x 22” Antarctic Iceberg Series

The role of artist as world explorer and reporter has significantly changed. Artists served a valuable function in the time before cameras as witnesses and recorders of wars and expeditions. Artists today provide important records of the changing landscape and environment with unique insights through paintings that can engage the viewer in ways that photographs may not. Some of the most powerful of these paintings come in the form of sketchbooks.

From diagrammatic sketches complete with notes and observations to complete paintings, the sketchbook allows artists to cultivate observational skills and awareness. Carrying minimal gear grants a freedom to absorb the landscape and changing light. Unencumbered by heavy equipment, it seems easier to experience the moment through all the senses and to capture its inspiration.

One contemporary artist, Maria Coryell-Martin is combining her passions for art, travel and sc…