Margie Guyot

Lives and works in Eastport, Michigan Artist Website

I was always the school artist, growing up in Iowa. Then I wasn't. The high school art teacher found out I was also in band. “You can't be in BOTH!” he declared. But I was also a band geek. They were “my people”. The art teacher took a dislike to me, so I quit art in a huff – and majored in music. Even had a
scholarship. It was a fun major, but I'd pour over the available art classes in each semester's catalog, wishing I could take one.

After college I toured the Midwest, playing saxophone in a road band, playing the Holiday Inn circuit (and many lesser dives). A tough job, I soon realized. I left the band, married the sound guy and settled in Michigan. Got a job on the line at Ford Wixom: 5:00 PM to 4:30 AM. Exhausting, but the pay and benefits were well worth it.

It was about this time when somebody loaned me a copy of “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards. I did every exercise in the book. By the time I got to the end, I knew I could draw! That book truly changed my life.

During this time we were living in an old, broken-down trailer. The old codger next door subscribed to Southwest Art Magazine. Every time an issue would come, he'd call me over and we'd pour over it. Two artists caught my eye: wildlife artist Robert Bateman and landscape painter Clyde Aspevig. I vowed that if I could ever study with them, I would.

Eventually I found workshops for both Bateman and Aspevig. If I hadn't had my job at Ford, I never could have afforded to fly out West for workshops. I studied with some of the very finest painters, even spending 10 days in the French Riviera with still life painter Janet Fish.

Back in 2007 Ford closed our plant and began building our cars in Mexico. It was my chance to leave Detroit. This was also about the time when plein air events became popular. I came up to participate in one in Petoskey. Until then, I'd considered moving to New Zealand. Clean air, woods and water were very important to me. I realized those qualities were right here, in NW lower Michigan. So that's how I ended up here, in peace, quiet and beauty!