ARTIST BIO
Marlee Braxton was born and raised in beautiful Oroville, California. She attended Oroville High School and was enrolled in art classes all four years. She attended Butte College in 2012 to pursue a degree in Studio Art and further expand her knowledge and artistic abilities. However, shortly after enrolling, her father passed away. She decided to take a break from school and focus on work. While working in local retail clothing stores, she realized that presenting products in attractive displays and promoting new arrivals on social media had a significant impact on sales. It also proved that her mundane nine-to-five job could also serve as an artistic expression.
She quickly got more involved in elaborate window displays, creating eye-catching signage, and creating props to express seasonal changes and the need for new boots.
While work experience is certainly a plus in the professional world, a college degree is equally important. In 2017, Marlee decided to go back to school and continue towards her goal. She earned an Associate in Arts degree from Butte College and is continuing her education in Studio Art at Chico State University. Her most recent work consists of painstakingly, accurate graphite illustrations. She attributes her fixation for precision to her anxious nature and the comfort she finds in controlling the medium. Marlee aspires to be as skilled as other hyper-realistic artists such as Laurie Lipton, Cath Riley & Arinze Stanley. She has shown work locally and has big plans for the upcoming year, so stay tuned. Her work will be on display through December at Mugshots in beautiful Oroville, California.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” - Vince Lombardi
Naturally, nothing in the world is perfect. But it certainly never hurt to aim high. In most, if not all of my illustrations, accuracy is of the utmost importance. My work is precise, detail-oriented, & maybe just a little neurotic. When someone tells me that “it doesn’t have to be perfect,” it’s like telling me I am wasting my time.
I enjoy capturing the subject in its most accurate form. If my illustrations get mistaken for a photograph, that means I have accomplished my goal. My work if more often about the execution rather than the subject matter. While I aspire to find meaning in the subjects I capture, my focus is much more about transcribing it onto paper. I find the time it takes to blend and mold an image into something hyper-realistic to be very cathartic. Like many people my age, I struggle with anxiety. My strict process serves as therapy for me to calm my mind and have control of something. While I cannot always govern my circumstances and the world around me, I can command what happens on the page. I haven’t quite landed on a specific topic or all-encompassing narrative that I want to talk about with my work. I’m still in the stages of becoming familiar with my materials and techniques. And that’s okay.