Deborah Maklowski

Bio

Deborah Maklowski earned her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University but opted instead for a 30-year career in Federal government. Upon her retirement in 2009, Deborah returned to art full time, working both en plein air and in her home studio in Ellicott City, MD. For 11 years she demonstrated and taught workshops in colored pencil, pastel, and mixed media/collage at venues in central Maryland and the Eastern Shore. A distinguished juror and judge, Deborah was honored in 2021 to be chosen as one of the jurors for the 20th Anniversary Gala Exhibition of the Color Pencil Society of the UK, in London. She is a dual signature member and past president of the Colored Pencil Society of America, a signature member and past president of the Maryland Pastel Society, and a member of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters’ Association, the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society, and the Collage Artists of America. Her award-winning work has been featured in exhibitions in New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Carmel, Cape Cod, Albuquerque, Alexandria, and in Cergy-Pointoise, on  the outskirts of Paris. Her colored pencil drawings and paintings in acrylic and pastel have been selected for publication in Artists Magazine, Plein Air Magazine, International Artist, and American Art Collector.

Artist Statement

Responding to a life-long curiosity about art materials and techniques, Deborah Maklowski maintains an active and varied art practice that ranges across a variety of mediums, from acrylics to colored pencil, to mixed media, incorporating paper, beads, stones, buttons, fabric, wire, and found objects. Whether her work is representational or abstract, her images emerge from and are inspired by her love of the landscape and the natural world. 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, create the illusion of atmosphere and depth, and provide an engaging mental space where the viewer is invited to find his or her own compelling story in the work.

Deborah’s Website