Welcome to this week’s Gators Eye artist feature! Each week, we shine the spotlight on different student artists and their work. Today, our star student is sophomore Maren Molinaro. Maren is an artist and a scientist–she is working towards a career in the medical field and is interested in biomedical technology and engineering. She’s also a proud plant mom. “I have a lot of plants and I like propagating, collecting, and taking care of them,” Maren shares. 

Maren has been an artist since she was a little girl. “I was always the girl who had the birthday parties at a Paint Your Pot and would take all the summer classes I could at the Cary Arts Center,” she says. “When we were first sent home, I got bored fast… I took up these painting projects and I would paint all night for the first couple of months.” Because of art block and general stress from school and similar things, it has been harder for Maren to find the time to just create. Sometimes, she just sits down and refuses to get up until she’s created something she can feel accomplished over. She uses plenty of mediums to do this.

“My favorite things to work with are gouache and watercolor, and I’ve also gotten into polymer clay as something just to try and play around with,” Maren says. Her gouache paintings are vibrant and use bold brushstrokes to build up gorgeous images. Her other paintings are just as beautiful, with detailed shading and peaceful scenery. Her faces are expressive and she manages to go from realistic or semi-realistic scenery to cartoon-style people with ease. She’s skilled with a brush, a marker, or a clay tool. 

Maren shares her own experiences with other students in the form of advice. “Keep working, even though it’s hard right now with school and the condition the world is in, being creative and just making something helps a ton during this time,” she says. She’s right, of course–finding a creative outlet the way Maren has could help any student, experienced artist or not.

Thank you to Maren Molinaro for her interview! If you would like to recommend yourself or a student for our artist spotlight, please email [email protected]!

Gallery • 3 Photos

Maren uses markers to capture a variety of creepy expressions.