EVOKED

Maria Delton is a Chicago based watercolor artist, who started her professional career as an account executive for Leo Burnett before pursuing her passion for watercoloring. She joins Stephanie Welter to share how she recently got started on her journey as an artist. 

First introduced to Maria’s work through social media, Stephanie recalls all of a sudden seeing all of these really cool watercolor prints of the neighborhood she grew up in. She was an instant fan of Maria’s work. 

Though always interested in art, it wasn’t until this past winter that things changed for Maria when she took an online watercolor class.

“The Jefferson park part started this winter. I take an online watercolor class with a Siberian woman named Katerina who teaches in both Russian and Italian; and I speak Italian.

I do not speak Russian. I can do the accent, but I don't speak it. So once a week, she gives you an assignment, very detailed assignment, and the winter one was all about colors and what's in your neighborhood. So I was being a hermit at home and the assignments were to go outside, when it's not subzero, take some pictures, depending on whatever the assignment was, and paint it.

Being from Jefferson Park herself, Stephanie immediately connected with Maria’s art. She goes on to share how first viewing Maria’s art evoked feelings of summer at her parent’s home.

“It just captures the feeling of the neighborhood and I think that's what's resonating. The one of ‘the night’ It's like you can almost smell the summer air. I can feel like sitting on my parents deck. Every backyard, you're facing the alley with the street lights and it's a feeling of a summer night and she just captured it so perfectly.”

 Tune in to hear more of how this Account Executive went from the corporate world to becoming a local celebrity artist in Edison Park.