Maria was born in Ukraine and spent much of her childhood in the picturesque surroundings of her town of Buchach. Her fondness for nature became the catalyst for her art. Her parents encouraged her artistic temperament and following high school, she attended Art College in the Chernivtci region, followed by Carpathian National University as a visual arts teacher.

Although Maria took pride in her teaching successes, her heart always belonged to the art of outdoor painting.

After moving to Canada, Maria graduated from the International Academy of Design and Technology in Toronto, and pursued an animation career. Having worked on films such as “Gladiator” and “Babe: Pig in the City”, she decided to devote more time to her passion for painting. Maria’s love of the outdoors naturally propelled her to painting flora. She found that capturing true color, value, atmosphere and the mood of a subject was best done on location or through direct observation.

She has also discovered the importance of her studio time in union with her outdoor experiences and enjoys the challenges of both. Her love for painting has broadened her subject matter to include not only still life and nature landscapes, but also figurative and portrait works.

Maria has been featured in numerous art publications, is an active member of Ukrainian Association of Visual Artists of Canada, Women’s Art Association of Canada and a member of the Associates of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolours.