ournal

“I’m doing my own thing and having fun with it.”

A PORTRAIT OF MARGE BRANDT

 Marge Brandt
Cover Section Artist
“Peonies & Old Lace” watercolor
 he is no longer in the box
The moon pours over a low set of trees as you feel yourself trudging through thick white snow to
either the barn that sits off to your left or to the two-story white house that glistens against the
shadow of trees Further ahead. The night is so clear you can see the Heavens above and you
wrap your coat more tightly sensing the crisp air of a
country night. With a chill you blink and realize that Marge
Brandt has transported you into a painting of magical
proportions with “Supper Time.” These are the paintings,
for which Marge Brandt, watercolorist and
award winner from Wapakoneta, Ohio has
been known, since she started with
wonderful bleeding colors in 1972.
Beautiful, soft realistic landscapes and
flowers dot the walls of art enthusiasts.
Now she is not only shocking the local art
community, but also others beyond her Buckeye
Acrylic 30” x 48”

roots with bold, bright colors of acrylic paint that

zing across the canvas with minds all of their
own, and she loves every minute of it. Color
splashes across a 30x48 piece of canvas of
rough edges with very little thought of borders
“Tunnels & Turnpikes”

and boundaries. She took her own advice and

decided to “get out of the box” with large acrylic
abstract paintings.

† “I’m doing my own thing and having fun with it.”

10—The Art-to-Art Palette - Cover Section - 2008-09 Fall/Winter Edition

 She is no stranger to the acrylic. fancy, however sometimes the Mucho” {Kiss me a lot} and
She learned acrylics in 1968 when inspiration is based on titles. “In every “Solamente Una vez” {You belong to
she took her first class at the local high painting I also weave in a cross,” says my heart.} Her favorite title needing no
school. She then would travel 62 artist Brandt. translation is “Kiss Me Quick and
miles, 1 day a week for 50 weeks to Marge holds firmly a belief that Don’t Slobber.”
Springfield to learn composition and naming a painting is almost as With bold colorful paintings and
design by Betty Gnagi. She learned important as the painting itself. She titles that inspire the imagination,
the art of pouring with watercolors realized how important titles were to Marge is definitely “I’m doing my own
from Steve Blackburn and painting of art when she first started showing her thing and having fun with it.” Her
lace with Arleta Peck. She gave back work. She laughingly tells of her first paintings can be found at local art
to the community
by opening up
her own studio in
her home and
gave classes for
several years.
From these and
many others she
attributes her
knowledge and
some of her
success. She
lovingly
proclaims that
her biggest fan
and worst critic
is her husband
Bob of 59 years.
Through all
the long years,
Marge’s styles of
painting, though
different have a
commonality,
being: Color.
With watercolors
she loves to
watch the colors
bleed into each
other making use
“Besame Mucho” Acrylic 30” x 40”
of their shadows
and light on the palette. Acrylics work show that occurred in a chicken shows in Wapakoneta, a city noted
with a will all their own. She never house. She had a painting with a for the home of the Neil Armstrong Air
knows what to do until she sees the barn that had a lane that went and Space Museum, and the
colors. She loves to pour the colors towards the back of the landscape Riverside Art Center where she is
onto the canvas, sometimes mix with and disappeared. A wife mentioned President. Other places to catch her
water and then have a cup of coffee to her husband that it looked like the work are in Florida with her oldest
as the colors mix, separate, and meld place they use to go to and neck. daughter Linda Brandt, impressionist
into each other. She proceeds to set When they left she quickly titled it, artist and author and in California
up and have the colors speak to her. “The End of Lovers Lane” - and it sold with her youngest son David, an
Inspiration from these new to the next couple. Her favorite abstract artist.
paintings comes in many forms: painting is titled, “Back in Puddle of To view a full range of this artist’s
Christian motifs, songs, magazine Water.” Her new abstract series is a works, you can email Marge at
pictures, or whatever catches her love series with titles, “Besame wapakartist@yahoo.com †

The Art-to-Art Palette - Cover Section - 2008-09 Fall/Winter Edition– 11