Lives in: the Rock Creek Palisades neighborhood in Kensington, Maryland.

Social Media: @12th_house_virgo on Instagram

Media and subjects: Acrylic, Mixed-Media, Photography 

Why you joined MAA: To encourage myself to paint more and to connect with other artists.

Something fun about you: I like making things. I do a lot of do-it-yourself projects. I recently bought an old cargo van to convert to a camper van. 

Artist Biography
I started painting because I took a color theory class in college and realized I love working with acrylic paints. I like to build up layers of color and sometimes work in mixed media, painting on prints of photos I’ve taken. These days, I am interested in painting what I think of as psychological landscapes to try and reveal private but also universal moments when the self sees itself as part of the cosmos. I have collected photos of sunrises and sunsets and am working out how to paint them. If you live in the area, you will likely see me walking my dog Bo around Kensington and taking photos at sunrise. I look forward to connecting with others over the years. 

Thank you to all who submitted entries to the Windridge Vineyard Watercolor Map Contest! This was a very difficult contest because the artists were asked to channel their creativity through a prism of constraints ... a lively, colorful vineyard map seen from above to include vineyard grape labels.  Eleven fabulous MAA watercolor artists submitted beautiful vineyard map paintings.

The Windridge Vineyard owners have made their selections.

First Place: Windridge Vineyard Map, Tracey Gage

Second Place: Venue Where the Sun Sets, Antonia Tiu

Third Place: Windridge Vineyard Map #1, Lily Kak

The first place winner's painting will be purchased by Windridge for $350.00 and used for publicity and advertising.  MAA will have the winning painting photographed by Debra Halprin of Fine Art Giclee Printing Services to provide Windridge with a high resolution digital image.    

The second place and third place winners will receive monetary awards along with award certificates..  

Congratulations to all.  

Lives in: The White Oak neighborhood of Silver Spring.

Media and subjects: Acrylics, right now focusing on surrealism. 

Why you joined MAA: I'm hoping to share my work and get feedback from more experienced artists. 

Have you participated in any MAA shows or events so far: I came to the Meet the Artists event at the Oasis Gallery. 

Something fun about you: I have a farm in North Dakota. 

Artist biography: I'm recently retired and am enjoying taking art classes and trying new techniques.

Lives in: Rockville, MD

Media and subjects: Oil Painting. I mainly paint things from nature, as well as surroundings/environments from my travels around the world.

Why you joined MAA: I would like to get to know other artists in the area, as well as getting my artwork out there.

Something fun about you: I have been to over 20 countries around the world!

Member Spotlight – February Mireim Alibrahim 

Lives in: Rockville, MD

Website: Mireim.myportfolio.com

Social Media: Instagram: _Mireim

Media and subjects: I mostly work on canvases and experiment with mixed media. 

Why you joined MAA: I joined MAA to meet new artists and learn from others along with participating in local events. 

Something fun about you: I have been creating art as long as I remember and recently, I have been trying a new art related hobby every month. 

Artist Biography: Mireim’s art ranges from realism to abstraction. She primarily utilizes acrylic and graphite but has experience working with oil, pastel, watercolor, ink, and mix media. Some of her major work includes bringing her vivid dreams to life and showing her love for animals. Her style is consistently evolving and changing based on her interests.

Lives in: Rockville, MD  

Media and subjects: My favorite media is charcoal which I used for my tree series and portraits. I have been using acrylic paint for my beach and bay views, sea birds, and seashell paintings. Oil paint is my choice of media for my plein air paintings. 

Why I joined MAA: I recently became interested in Plein Air painting and I hope to find a group of other artists with similar interests to paint together outdoors at different locations. I believe MAA will provide a great opportunity to share ideas, get inspiration, and learn from other artists in my community.

Something fun about me: In my free time I love to do logic puzzles. 

Artist Biography: Mary received a BFA degree in Fine Art and Interior Design at Maryland Institute College of Art. Her artwork is in private collections in New York, Chicago, New Hampshire, Delaware, California and her hometown of Rockville, MD. Mary has had several solo exhibitions in Rockville, Bethesda, and Washington, DC and group shows in Rockville, Baltimore and Wilmington, DE. She has won awards for her work through the Rockville Art League, an Interior Design award from Lazenby Associates and a group show with the Hardcastle Gallery in Centerville, DE.

New Members Spotlight – December 2022 – Alexandra Schmeling

Lives in: Arlington, VA

Website: alexandraschmeling.com

Social Media:  @alexandra.schmeling, https://www.facebook.com/aschmelingfineart/

Media and Subjects: Watercolor and pen paintings of architecture and natural beauty.

Why you joined MAA: I was introduced to MAA through the Labor Day Art Sale and loved the diversity of work and the collaborative spirit of the show. I knew I wanted to participate in this sort of event in future!

Something fun about you: I have a rescue pup named Ripley and most of my art business right now is pet portraits!

Artist Biography: Alexandra Schmeling is a watercolor artist living in Arlington, VA who originally trained as a photographer at Yale University. She still uses photography, now as reference photos to paint from. She recently completed an artist residency at Chateau Orquevaux in France. Her works explore the interaction between manmade structures and their architectural intricacies and the more abstract, wild forms of nature. She enjoys playing with depth in her work, creating collages out of multiple watercolor paintings that draw the viewer deeper into the scene as if they are peering into a secret world.

By Glen Kessler

In late October, we lost a great one. Artist and MAA member Ellen Yahuda began her painting career in earnest in 2017 with me at The Compass Atelier, the art program I run in Rockville. During her three years in the Master Artist Program, she impressed upon everyone who knew her her no-nonsense approach to life.

Sadly, Ellen passed away just a few weeks after a cancer diagnosis.

Ellen was a dogged pursuer of knowledge, a fierce debater, and a loyal friend. I will never forget arguing with her one week, hugging her the next, then arguing again the next. That's just how she was--nothing was ever given. She always needed to know why something was the way it was, not satisfied with simply reciting rhetoric. I respected it and then I came to love it, and her.

And that's how her artistic vision manifested--unapologetically tough paintings of her family's factories built up with thick impasto and harmonious color. Equal parts intimate and brash. Her artwork flourished in the program and as she began exhibiting her work, she found sales and prizes awaiting her.

Ellen’s first-ever show was the MAA Paint the Town Labor Day Show in 2019. Not only did she win a prize but she sold the painting. She would go on to win many prizes across the area, including a second-place award at the Labor Day Show just this past September.

Ellen Yahuda (far left) poses with other award winners at the 2022 Paint the Town Labor Day Show.


Ellen was never satisfied with success and always sought to learn new skills to test her boundaries. She took on figure and portrait painting during the roughest days of the pandemic and there again achieved great success.

“Whenever we talked, she sought out and lifted up what we had in common, what we could connect with each other. fellow MAA member Margo Lehman wrote in a Facebook post about Ellen. “I am quite sure she did this with everyone she met.”

“Ellen was so full of energy and humor,” MAA President Jennifer Barlow said. Artist Jenny Wilson has likewise spoken of Ellen’s “goodness and loving nature.”

I am proud to have called Ellen a student of mine and later a friend. I am sad that the world must now carry on without her indomitable spirit.

MAA member Glen Kessler is founder and executive director of The Compass Atelier in Rockville and has established the Ellen J. Yahuda Memorial Scholarship to offer financial assistance to one Master Artist Program student per year.

Lives in: McLean, Virginia

Social Media: Instagram

Media and subjects: Oil. Mostly still life but plein air when I can pull it off.

Why you joined MAA: To connect with other artists who are still learning and to take advantage of educational opportunities.

Something fun about you: I clearly didn’t read the course details for my first drawing class. When I showed up for the second class I honestly turned to the person sitting next to me and asked, “Who’s that guy over there and why is he wearing a bathrobe?” Turns out my first experience with a nude model was quite unexpected!

Artist Biography: It wasn’t until about fifteen years ago that I finally had time to take my first art class. I started with a drawing class figuring that I should begin by getting a few basics down. After that I dabbled in acrylics and then settled firmly on oils. I was working as a nurse practitioner and launching three kids into their adult lives at the time so never had more than a few hours a week to paint. Those few hours were golden though-I couldn’t think about anything except what I was trying paint. Excellent stress reduction therapy!

Classes at the Art League in Old Town Alexandria and The Yellow Barn at Glen Echo helped me to develop an appreciation for all the elements that make a painting “work.” I had the opportunity to travel to Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne, France in 2019 with a wonderful teacher from the Art League. We stayed in an actual castle, drank amazing wine every night and painted outdoors for six days. It was a transformative experience. More recently I took master copy classes with another amazing teacher at the Art League. Copying works by Chardin, van Aelst, and Cézanne challenged me more than anything I’ve ever done and really helped me grow. I’m now hopelessly hooked. Like my fellow MAA members, I can’t look at a gorgeous sunset or weathered old boathouse without imagining how I would paint it. Everything in the world around me is fair game for a canvas and that makes my little corner of the world a calmer and better place.

The Montgomery Art Association and Montgomery County Public Libraries are co-hosting an event for children to make and decorate small books and partake in other craft projects.

The activity takes place on Saturday, November 5 from 11 am-noon at the Kensington Park Library in Kensington. The activity is geared towards children ages 4-12 and is free and open to the public.

The event is in conjunction with MAA's new exhibit, "For the Love of Books," in which we celebrate literature through the artist's eye.