“Being an artist is a state of mind, one that defines your very being, that gets inside your soul and changes the way you see the world. I strive to capture the moment by presenting ordinary people doing ordinary, everyday things; a labor of love which presents the the beauty and dignity of the simpler life that lies in the heart of us all . . . . .To whom much is given, much is required . . .I’m truly blessed.”

Maria Sharylen 

PRESIDENT/FOUNDER:
American Academy of Women Artists, 1994-2000

PRESIDENT/FOUNDER:
The Other Side of the West, 1999 to present

FOUNDING BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Willamette Valley Arts Council, 1980

CREATOR:
The Sunshine Garden Publishing

ARTIST: 
Professional Artist for over 25 years
Works held in galleries, collections and museums (or)
Works held in private and museum collections

MEDIUM:
Oil, Charcoal, Prismacolor, Watercolor, Bronze and Jewelry

AUTHOR:
“Artists of the Pacific Northwest to 1970”
A Biographical Directory, MacFarland Publisher

PUBLICATIONS: 
“The Woman Artist and the American West”
P. Kovanich & The University of Texas Institutional Press

PUBLISHED FEATURED ARTICLES: 

Art News, New York
Sunstorm Fine Art Magazine, New York
America Art Review, “Where Eagles Fly”, 1998
Southwest Art Magazine
Cowboys and Indians Magazine
Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine
Santa Fe Magazine
Art of the West
Art Talk Magazine
Art Trends Magazine
Art Life, Arizona (cover 2008)
Arizona Republic Newspaper
Mesa Lifestyle, Gold Canyon Living, (cover dates)
Victoria Magazine

CONSULTANT:
Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach, CA 1988-94

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS: 

OTHER SIDE OF THE WEST: (touring exhibition)

• BERGSTROM-MAHLER MUSEUM:
  Wisconsin, August – October 2004
• BOOTH WESTERN ART MUSEUM:
  Georgia, March – May 2004
• MUSEUM OF THE SOUTHWEST:
  Texas, December 2003 – February 2004
• THOMASVILLE CULTURAL CENTER:
  Georgia, September – November 2003
• ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER:
  Little Rock, February – April 2003
• MSC FORSYTH GALLERY:
  Texas A&M University, September – November 2002
• THE GRACE MUSEUM:
  Texas, April – July 2002
• GEORGE PHIPPEN FINE ART MUSEUM:
  Prescott, AZ, 2001

THE COWBOY ARTISTS OF AMERICA MUSEUM
“The Night of the Artist”, 2002-2003

THE BRUCE MUSEUM OF FINE ART, CONNECTICUT
“Dreamwalkers”, American Western Artists, 2002

GEORGE PHIPPEN FINE ART MUSEUM
One Hundred Years of Arizona Women Artists, 2001

DESERT CABALLEROS WESTERN MUSEUM
American Academy of Women Artists, 1998
A Century of Arizona Women Artists, 2001

THE JOHN CLYMER MUSEUM
“American Academy of Women Artists”, 1997

THE KIMBAL FINE ART MUSEUM
“Reinventing the West”, 1996

TUCSON FINE ART MUSEUM
“Women of the West”, 1994

ARIZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM
“American Academy of Women Artist’s”, 1994

GALLERY EXHIBITIONS: (Solo & Group)

Joan Marcus Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
El Taller Gallery, El Paso, TX
Pitzers Fine Art, Carmel, CA
Henington Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Joan Cawley, Scottsdale, AZ
Leslie Marchetti, Excellence in Fine Art, San Diego, CA
Rosenquist Galleries, Tucson, AZ
B&R Gallery, Canyon Country, CA
O’Brien’s Art Emporium
Lanning Gallery, Sedona, AZ
Deborah Melnick, Denver, CO
Sanders Galleries, Tucson, AZ