Maryellyn Lynott of Chesapeake Bay on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Maryellyn Lynott and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Maryellyn, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day for me is going out and about on the Eastern Shore and painting plein air. As a friend of mine says “nothing good ever happens after 90 minutes”, so I tend to keep my paintings studies fast, getting down the basic lighting, shapes, values. For ease of use in the field, not to mention non-toxic I use gouache that eventually I take back to the studio and use as a reference for future oil paintings.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I paint what I see around me. I luckily live where water and land intertwine and make for beautiful scenes.

As for my painting set ups, in the field I keep it simple and easy to carry. I use Holbein Designer gouache that I have made in to a small “dry” kit with primary colors and burnt sienna, I keep the white “wet” in the tube. I find a place to perch and paint in a Hand Book Journal Co 140 lb/300 gsm sketchbook. I love using this book as you can see your progression, you don’t need an easel and I take the studies back to the studio. My brushes are minimal using a 1′ wide Korean goat hair brush, a round brush and a rigger brush.

In the studio I use M Graham and Charvin oil paint. I have found the relatively inexpensive Princeton brushes work for me. the other tool i use is baby wipes…easiest way to clean your brush and you.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I have learned to relax and let things happen that I can’t change. Retirement helps with this

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I gave up painting for 30 years. When I graduated from college I worked in NYC as an apprentice for an artist. It was such a miserable experience I gave up.. The artist was a horrible human being and I found my own work being influenced in a bad way by that artist, the gallery experience was not great and the money made it hard to pay rent. I changed fields and when I retired I came back to painting. I find painting now a relaxing and amazing learning experience daily.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Public and private, I am the same. It’s taken years to achieve this, but it is a positive about getting older

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
Peace to me is when I am painting in the zone. In the studio lose track of time and let issues go – a very peaceful experience

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maryellyn.com
• Instagram: maryellynL