Maria Wigge | Art Crush xo

Who are and where are you from?

I’m Maria Wigge and I live in a small town called Varberg on the west coast of Sweden

Is creating art your passion and/or your profession?

My profession

How did you get into doing it?

My mother was an artist so growing up I was always surrounded by art. I vividly remember sitting underneath my mother’s studio table, the air rich with the smells from the oil paint, making my own little drawings.

What is your driving force?

It’s the one thing that fulfills me. I turn to painting for solace, for joy, for energy, experimentation and exploration. It’s an itch I have to scratch and I loose track of time every time.

What is your current inspiration?

Nature, as soon as I walk outside I get the urge to go back indoors to paint.

What kind of work you do and why?

Watercolors and acrylic painting. Treating both mediums the same really, with ultra thin layers and loads of water.

Even though I’ve painted my entire life I was afraid to share my work with anyone until just a few years ago. The fear of being judged and compared to my mother was ever-present so all through my life I’ve thrown away or hidden everything I’ve made. I pursued Graphic Design instead, where the rules and boundaries allowed me to bypass that judgment while at the same time letting me stay in touch with color and some degree of creativity.

Eventually though, the pressure from my bottled-up creativity came to a peak and I decided to make room for my art to grow. I started with one day a week off work to paint and it grew from there. I think with age I’d just become more secure in my own being, caring less about other people’s thoughts. I’m so very glad I did!