2024 Year End Newsletter

Mary Haapala Art - While the Paint Dries Issue 01

Author

Mary Haapala
December 31, 2024

Artist Intro

Hi there! I am Mary Haapala, an artist and engineer living in Royal Oak, Michigan. I currently paint in both acrylic (great for layering, small works, & quick dry time) and in water-mixable oil paints (lovely paint texture & blending abilities). While many artists have their niche nailed down, I am still exploring subject matter. One common theme in my paintings is that I paint what I love. I love to travel and feel most myself when existing in nature. I love local landmarks & sweets of any kind. I love vibrant sunsets, quiet sunrises, and cozy scenes. Apparently, based on the many paintings I did this year, I also love bugs? Turns out, bugs are all colorful and design masterpieces if you look close enough. For now, I plan to keep exploring and learning what makes my paintbrush fly effortlessly across the canvas!

Successful art fair at Farmington’s Art on the GRAND 2024 with a new young collector.

Why A Newsletter?

My hopes for this newsletter:

  1. Connect directly with more people who are interested in my art.

  2. Share my studio updates and upcoming events.

  3. Share more detailed stories and insights into my art practice.

  4. Lessen my reliance on communication via social media.

Have I ever written a newsletter before? Nope. Will every newsletter be perfect, pristine, and professional? Probably not. Am I excited to share more about my paintings and art practice with those who are interested? HECK YEAH.

I have been posting my art to social media (Instagram) for four years now and while I love sharing with that online community, I have noticed many downsides to social media being my only point of contact. Primarily, some family and friends (including my husband and my siblings), have decided that social media just isn’t for them. While I really admire their choices to step away from social media, I also hear that they wish to see the art I have been working on and sharing. I hope this email newsletter is a perfect solution to allow everyone direct access to my art - without solely depending on addictive social media platforms with their ever-changing algorithms.

This newsletter will be short and sweet. I plan to highlight upcoming events, showcase recent works, and occasionally dive into my creative process and behind-the-scenes. Bear with me for these first few emails as I get myself situated and kick off this newsletter!

2024 Recap

As the year draws to a close, I like to look back and pull some numbers. (I am a data-loving engineer, after all.)

  • 3 Art Events: Farmington Art on the GRAND, Berkley Art Bash, and the Handmade Holiday Market in Oak Park. Art fairs are a lot of work- planning, prepping, printing, packaging, set-up, tear-down… you get it. I was beyond happy with all three of the events I did this year. Each one taught me something about my business and allowed me to meet tons of art appreciators!

  • 2 Months of Public Art Showing: About 30 of my original works of art were hosted in the Southfield Public Library throughout January and February this past year. It was such a joy to give back to the community and hear responses from library goers! Public art is such an important part of any community.

  • 21 Commissioned Paintings: Talk about a new record! I was honored to paint as many commissions as I did this year. I love seeing everyone’s special moments, loved pets, and favorite places. My hanging tiles were an especially big hit this holiday season. Remember, I take commissions year round! Reach out via message, email, or the form on my website below, and I will be in touch. https://maryhaapala.com/commissions/

  • 59 Original Paintings Sold- It was astounding to get so many of my original pieces of art into their new homes. Paintings of all sizes sold - the smallest was a few of my ‘Candy Bowl’ series (2×3 inches) and the largest was ‘Molten Sunset’ (4 feet by 5 feet). See the photo below of it in its new home. I hope all the paintings continue to bring joy wherever they have ended up!

  • 5 new prints added to the online shop -The learning curve for photographing my original art and transferring it into a printable file has been conquered! Browse my most popular prints at the following link. All of these reproductions are printed using archival materials at a local print shop in Ferndale, MI. I do have more prints to add to the shop, so keep an eye out. https://maryhaapala.com/product-category/reproduction-prints/

  • 1 Newsletter Sent out - hopefully the first of many!

“Molten Sunset” in its new home. This is the largest painting I’ve made to date and it sold within the first hour of the Farmington art fair. The collectors were kind enough to share this picture just a few hours later!

Fresh off the Easel

Newly finished painting of a sunset I witnessed in Cinque Terre, Italy. My husband and I had spent the evening jumping from the rocks and swimming as the sun went down. “Gelato Sunset” 16×20 oil on canvas. Prints coming to my website shop soon.

Added a few details and cleaned up some lines on this architectural painting from Chiang Mai, Thailand. I captured the original photo while walking back from Chiang Mai’s China Town market. I loved how the two buildings were twins but each has their own personality. “Chiang Mai Juxtaposition” 16×20 oil on canvas.

Freshly varnished, this moth practically glows in her ornate frame. I found this frame second-hand and thought that my moth painting would go beautifully with it. I love how the gold and green of the frame and the linen matt accent the pale colors of the moth. “Just A Moth” 8×10 oil on framed canvas paper.

Only just sketched in, this tall-format painting is waiting to be finished on my easel! The photo reference was taken from a magical hike (Deer Lake Trail) in Olympic National Park. I’m debating either adding a human or two to the painting to give the trees and waterfall a sense of scale, or keeping the natural scene uninterrupted by civilization. If all goes to plan, I’ll be able to share the finished piece in my next newsletter.

Thank you for reading! Hope you have had a warm and cozy holiday season and wishing you the best in the New Year!

-Mary Haapala

See more from me here!

Instagram: @maryhop.art