"My paintings celebrate life and the power of possibilities. They are a sort of visual diary interpreted by my imagination. My process is more about letting go than holding on, more about discovering than knowing. I think of it as painting from the inside out, having one foot in reality and one in my imagination."

Mary Jo is an award-winning watercolor and mixed media painter who has developed an expressive visual language that relies on abstracted imagry, pattern, color, and personal symbols. She considers herself a self-taught painter despite having a B.A. degree in Art Education and a Certificate of Graphic Design. She also teaches artists workshops on gaining access to your imagination and finding your authentic voice. Born and raised on Long Island, New York, she has lived in seven different states and in France from 1990 to 1995. She presently lives by an estuary of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. Her web address is www.mjbeswick.com.