On an artist's journey with Margery Thomas-Mueller

ALTON – If there is anything artist Margery Thomas-Mueller likes, it is not knowing exactly where she is going. Her journey as a painter feeds her and it has helped her win accolades both locally and nationally. But painting is indeed a journey, and she is open for changes in her work.

In an Alton, New Hampshire studio, Thomas-Mueller creates eye-catching, large statement paintings using watercolor, India ink and other types of ink on Yupo paper. Many people, even other artists, have never heard of this specialized paper, with its non-absorbent, super-smooth surface.

Thomas-Mueller exhibits at the Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery in Center Sandwich and elsewhere, and she has always loved art. She said, “I was creating things when I was in high school, and I attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, and I also studied art in Europe.”

Like many people, Thomas-Mueller had to make a living and she operated an interior design business in New York for more than 40 years. With three daughters to raise, she found time to do artwork at night, but was not painting full-time, due to her busy professional and family life. “But I believe if you really want to be an artist, you should dedicate yourself to it full-time. You must show up every day.”

Certainly Thomas-Mueller is aware that is a lofty goal when many people must work, as she did, at something else to make a living. However, she advises trying to do some artwork, whether it is drawing or painting or any other art form each day, for even an hour.

After she met her husband, Bob Mueller, her life changed drastically. Also from New York, Bob had a vacation home in Alton and brought her to the Lakes Region to visit. “I liked the area, but at the time, I didn’t plan to move to New Hampshire. I had a busy life in New York,” she recalled.

Once the couple were married, they made the move full-time to the Lakes Region around 2012, and Thomas-Mueller did artwork from their home. Bob is a classic and race boat aficionado and with his wife’s need for an art studio, the decision was made to build a large structure not far from their home. The downstairs of the barn-like building is a great space for Bob’s boating interests and the upstairs is where Thomas-Mueller has a spacious studio.

With a welcoming, laid-back nature, Bob hosts friends to visit and talk about classic boats, and he is a member of the New Hampshire Boat Museum in Wolfeboro. Bob is also involved in the popular Vintage Race Boat Regatta in Wolfeboro Bay.

In Thomas-Mueller’s light and airy upstairs space, artwork is everywhere. “I come here to paint every day,” she said. Certainly, she has taken her own paint-everyday-advice and realizes how fortunate she is to have the time to do so on a consistent basis. “This is my job; it’s what I do, and I am in the studio painting three to five hours daily.”

Her paintings are known for their distinctive style, done on the smooth Yupo paper. Her work – often large paintings - is certainly bold and it could be called abstract landscape. One must see the paintings to get the full and immediate effect of the graphic lines, wooded scenes and haunting, pensive figures.

In the journey to her present-day paintings, Thomas-Mueller took an art workshop that taught her the possibilities of working with India ink and other materials. “The more I used the ink, the more I wondered what else might work on Yupo paper and I began to experiment with gold ink, watercolors and graphite sticks.” The results are large paintings with figures peering around forest trees, in a mysterious and wondrous world.

Thomas-Mueller spent some time last year during the height of COVID volunteering in the area and delivering groceries to families in need. It was a new experience and one she did not forget. She painted scenes on Yupo to translate the fact that there are families in need. The work is not judgmental but rather unforgettable and sensitive.

Recently, Thomas-Mueller and her husband traveled to Costa Rica, and it opened a new world for the artist. She brought some smaller Yupo paper and watercolors with her and probably did not realize how much she would use the supplies. “It was a thrilling place,” she said with excitement. “I painted small images of the greenery and I loved it.”

Part of her fondness for Costa Rica was the diverse ecological nature of the area, with lush greenery in many places. Her paintings are not in the bold black India ink style of her previous work, but rather bursting with greenery and vegetation.

The work is new to Thomas-Mueller, and she freely admits she has no idea where it will lead. However, she is open and relaxed to take the journey. “I have learned over the years to paint - to just do it.”

Thomas-Mueller is appreciative of the Lakes Region and the quiet and solitude in her studio. It is a bright place with a kitchen and the large, light-filled studio room where she can hang massive paintings in progress and make use of the many art books and magazines she has collected.

Thomas-Mueller is aware of how fortunate she is to have a supportive husband in Bob, three talented daughters and beloved grandchildren. She is also aware she is fortunate to have a studio and the time to work there each day on her paintings.

But all her work as an artist would mean very little if she only utilized her studio now and then. She quotes a favorite painter who said to “not wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.”

If Thomas-Mueller does not always know where her work as an artist will take her, she is more than ready for the journey.

To view the artwork of Margery Thomas-Mueller, visit www.margerythomasmueller.net.