Marybeth (Mb) Weider
I'm originally from Upstate NY and have lived in San Francisco for nearly 30 years. I moved here in my 20's, after having spent the summer with my oldest brother, Billy, who had already lived in San Francisco for a number of years.
Billy died within the first two years of my arrival, the early 80’s and the early years of the AIDS epidemic. His creative outlet was to paint and at the time was near completion of a large, 6’ x 4’, canvas painting. I've had this painting with me ever since and for many years it was the main piece of art in my home. Eventually however, I put it in storage where it remained for about 10 years.
In the midst of a move and after being in storage for those 10 years I decided it was time to do something again with the painting. I certainly didn’t want to get rid of it and somehow wanted to make it part of my everyday life again but I struggled with the idea of exactly what to do. It was then when my Partner, Elke, suggested I do something "different" with it, maybe "add to it" or "paint over it".
Though it took me a while to wrap my head around the thought of altering Billy's painting I eventually warmed up to the idea that the painting could remain his but change form somehow, morph into a new realm and potentially become “both” of us. That was about 12 years ago and when I first started painting.
All of my paintings are acrylic on canvas. Most of the paintings are fully abstract, painting solely on how I feel at the time. “I want to see how I feel” is a usual response of mine and, as much as possible, how I like to live my life. Probably like many Artists, what I paint is typically motivated by how I feel at the given time. Some of the paintings are fueled by joy, some by anger or angst, others by lust, and some by sadness.
I’m not exactly sure why I continue to paint, as the majority of my work remains in storage. Possibility to maintain a connection with my brother. But, it’s time to put my pieces out there, allow strangers, family, and friends the possibly of moving my pieces from the dark storage to the lightness of another world.
As much as you can, do what moves you. Just mosey along and see how you feel.
