Maureen Hyde was born in 1946, and grew up on military bases, in the United States. After receiving a MFA from the University of Los Angeles, she traveled to Europe and lived in the countryside in southern France. It is this European experience that inspired her to love a closer relationship to nature that the French countryside offered, and to be exposed to all the wonderful painting and sculpture that traditional art had to offer in Europe. Upon returning to the states a year later, she located herself in California, north of San Francisco in the wooded hills, where she and her husband raised their son and maintained a small family farm and a theater.
During this chapter, Hyde illustrated picture books and did book covers for historical novels and reprinted classics. A transition to fine art was initiated in 1993, starting classes at the Florence Academy of Art. She returned to Florence to finish her studies 3 years later, and upon graduation, started to teach there in 1998, where she is still working and living.
Florence and the supportive nature of its culture towards the arts has been has continued to be the place where she feels at home and creatively inspired. Beyond some commissioned work, she paints following her vision and works in various genre.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 14th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
