January Artist of the Month
Meet Mai Mai Pietrowski
Mai Mai Pietrowski’s artwork is as joyous as she is. After starting out in social work, then attaining an MBA from Babson, followed by a successful career in the high-tech industry, this business woman wanted a new challenge. In 2014 she decided to take a beginner painting course at the Danforth Art Museum School. She considers herself fortunate to have had Margaret Gerding as a teacher. Pietrowski notes, “I was starting from scratch. I couldn’t paint the way she did but she encouraged me to paint in my own style.” Gerding taught all the elements-line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture to her student who absorbed the basics and then let her intuition take over. “It’s like there’s an artist inside you and you don’t know it.”
Though she originally felt very out of place in the art world it was Pietrowski’s persistence that led to her accomplishment. She learned everything she could and then followed her instinct. “I began to focus on what I loved: colors, shapes and patterns. That’s my go-to.” Composition and color come naturally to Pietrowski who finds most of her inspiration in nature with additions from her dreams, imagination and travel. As a colorist she emphasizes the contrast between bold colors and neutrals. She often begins her paintings en plein air in her favorite locations including Cape Cod/Provincetown, Kennebunkport and Acadia National Park in Maine, Key West and Provence. Her artwork is held in private collections in France, Switzerland and the United States.
As far as using her business sense, Pietrowski realizes that will always be present but that it has not been the priority this time around. She did commit to opening a studio in Framingham very early on in 2015. Four years ago, she was able to get a coveted spot at SOWA where she now works and shows her vibrant creations. In 2015 she began exhibiting in juried shows and by 2017 had been chosen for Prince Street Gallery in NYC. She has had a solo exhibit at the Liberty Hotel and has her work at Cristof’s in Provincetown. She was honored to become a Juried Member of the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA). Pietrowski is also a member of the WSA, Provincetown Art Association, Hopkinton Center for the Arts, The SOWA Artist Guild, Cambridge Art Association and Fort Point Arts.
As for the purpose of her work: “I’m hoping that people will look at a piece and feel hopeful and uplifted.” Pietrowski is naturally drawn to vibrant colors and uses them in unexpected ways and in subjects where many would be more conservative. She is currently working on themed series such as hummingbirds, still life and tropical flowers. She does not lose sight of the fact that her art is a very personal thing. She recalls a quote that speaks to her: “No one knows why we paint, we just do.”
