Artist's Statement

Direct observation is at the core of all of my painting. When I am struck by something my impulse is to describe it in paint. I want to study its tangible and intangible qualities, and to notice something that perhaps was thought too banal for consideration. I find that given time, most things reveal themselves as perfect, just as they are. Observing and translating my vision, thoughts and feelings into paint is how I have come to reconcile my desire to paint with my insatiable love of the outdoors. If beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, then it is my hope that when others look at my paintings they too may recall their own unguarded moments with nature and delight in a tender tribute to the ordinary.

About Maria

A passionate landscape painter, Maria Josenhans creates oil paintings both outdoors on location and in her North Vancouver studio. As an artist for four decades, Maria's work plays back and forth between representational and abstract as she allows each painting to find its own unique path. Her career has been shaped by long periods of immersion in large format photography, working as an illustrator, training, competing and adjudicating Highland dance, teaching, and travelling the world by bicycle. Maria holds a BFA with Honors from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, and continues to take part in Invitational Plein Air events both nationally and abroad.

As a dual citizen of the US and Canada, Maria Josenhans lives and works in the Pacific Northwest.

EDUCATION

1982-86 B.F.A. in Illustration with Honors, Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts), Philadelphia, PA

1994 Paul Caponigro, Invitational Masters Class, Large Format Black & White Photography, Maine Photographic Workshops, Rockport, ME
1993 John Daido Loori, Zen and Photography, Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt Tremper, NY

AWARDS

2024 Winner, Best Nocturne, March 2024 PleinAir Salon
2023 Winner, 1st Overall, November 2023 PleinAir Salon
2022 Third Place, Hazy Days, FCA Landscapes Exhibition, Vancouver, BC
2021 Honorable Mention, Paint On The Mountain Plein Air Competition, West Vancouver, BC
2020 Grand Prize, British Pacific Properties, Paint On The Mountain Plein Air, West Vancouver, BC
2020 Honorable Mention for Burnt Trees, Waterton Lakes, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
2019 Grand Prize, Plein Air Challenge, West Vancouver, BC
2018 Grand Prize, British Pacific Properties, Paint On The Mountain Plein Air, West Vancouver, BC
2016 Honorable Mention for Best Landscape, Federation of Canadian Artists, Annual International Representational Show, Vancouver, BC
2016 Runner up, Paint On The Mountain Invitational Plein Air Competition, British Pacific Properties, West Vancouver, BC
2015 Recipient of the Don S. Williams Grant, BC
2015 Grand Prize, Kilby Plein Air Festival, Harrison Mills, BC
2012 Winner, Plein Air Challenge, West Vancouver, BC
2011 Plein Air Challenge Runner-Up, West Vancouver, BC
2008 Stafford Plant Award, Federation of Canadian Artists, International Juried Exhibition: Painting on the Edge, Vancouver, BC

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023 The Avenue Gallery, The Quality Of Light, Victoria, BC
2019 Buckland Southerst Gallery, New Paintings, West Vancouver, BC
2017 Buckland Southerst Gallery, Familiar Places, West Vancouver, BC
2016 Kay Meek Centre, West Vancouver, BC
2016 Artemis Gallery, Deep Cove To Haida Gwaii, North Vancouver, BC
2016 Buckland Southerst Gallery, Heavens Above, West Vancouver, BC
2014 Buckland Southerst Gallery, Resonance, West Vancouver, BC
2012 Artemis Gallery, The Unguarded Moment, North Vancouver, BC

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022 Steamboat Art Museum, Oil Painters of America National Exhibition, Steamboat Springs, CO, USA
2021 Mary R. Koch Arts Center, Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition, Wichita, KS, USA
2020 RS Hanna Gallery, Oil Painters of America National Exhibition, Fredericksburg, TX, USA
2020 Federation Gallery, Signature Medal Exhibition, Landscapes, Animalis, Bloom, AIRE, Western Scenes, Vancouver, BC
2019 Art Interiors, Festival of Smalls, Toronto, ON
2019 The Avenue Gallery, Our Coast, Victoria, BC
2019 Federation Gallery, AIRE (Annual International Representational Exhibition), Vancouver, BC
2019 Federation Gallery, Landscapes, Vancouver, BC
2018 Mary Williams Fine Arts, Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition, Boulder, CO
2018 Federation Gallery, AIRE (Annual International Representational Exhibition), Vancouver, BC
2018 Federation Gallery, POTE (Painting On The Edge), Vancouver, BC
2018 The Avenue Gallery, Coastal Moods, Victoria, BC
2017 CityScape Gallery, Clouds, North Vancouver, BC
2016 Federation of Canadian Artists, Annual International Representational Show, Vancouver, BC
2015 Ferry Building Gallery, 25 Years/25 Artists, West Vancouver, BC
2015 Blank Tank Gallery, The North Sho, Vancouver, BC
2015 Visual Space, Red, Vancouver, BC
2015 CityScape Gallery, Cerulean, North Vancouver, BC
2014 Port Angeles Fine Art Center, Paint the Peninsula Invitational, Port Angeles,
2014 The Art Gallery at WVML, Instructor's Exhibition, West Vancouver, BC
2013 Federation of Canadian Artists, Annual International Representational Show, Vancouver, BC
2013 Ferry Building Gallery, Harmony Arts Showcase Exhibition, West Vancouver, BC
2013 Federation of Canadian Artists, Summer Salon, Vancouver, BC
2013 Buckland Southerst Gallery, New Works, West Vancouver, BC
2012 Ferry Building Gallery, 100 Years, 100 Artists, West Vancouver, BC
2012 Ferry Building Gallery, Recent Works, West Vancouver, BC
2011 Artemis Gallery, Small Wonders, North Vancouver, BC
2011 Federation of Canadian Artists, Annual International Representational Show, Vancouver, BC
2010 Ferry Building Gallery, In the Abstract, West Vancouver, BC
2009 Kay Meek Centre, Pacific Gallery Show, West Vancouver, BC
2008 Federation of Canadian Artists, International Juried Exhibition: Painting on the Edge, Vancouver, BC
2008 Silk Purse Gallery, Natures Reflections, West Vancouver, BC
2008 Bellevue Art Gallery, Harmony Arts Festival, West Vancouver, BC
2008 The Art Gallery at the WVML, Spirit of BC, West Vancouver, BC
2008 North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Art Rental Programme
2008 Seymour Art Gallery, A World in a Grain of Sand, North Vancouver, BC

COLLECTIONS

British Pacific Properties Ltd
Lion's Gate Hospital Foundation
Canadian Cancer Society
McLeod Medical
Private collections throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Japan

GRANTS

2020 Oil Painters of America, Shirl Smithson Scholarship
2015 Don S. Williams Grant

SELECTED TEACHINGS

2021, 2023, 2024 Federation of Canadian Artists, Plein Air Retreat, BC
2019-2020 Red Deer College, Series Summer Arts School, Red Deer, Alberta
2017 Flavour of Spain, Plein Air Workshop, Andalucia, Spain
2016 MISSA (Metchosin International Summer School of Arts), Field Studies, Metchosin, BC

PUBLICATIONS | INTERVIEWS

2023 AART podcast, Episode #S1E22 August 2023
2022 Artful Minds, Inspirational Interview, June 2022
2022 International Artists Magazine
2021 Opus Visual Podcast, Explore Plein Air, June 2021
2012 Opus Visual Arts Newsletter, April 2012, Issue 281, En Plein Air With Maria Josenhans

AFFILIATIONS

Oil Painters of America
Federation of Canadian Artists (Signature member, SFCA)