Tina Mayland’s earliest works testify to her lifelong love of art, beginning with sculptures of animals that she created at the age of 6, when she took classes from renowned American sculptor Willard Hirsch.
Like many artists, Mayland’s professional life took her on a path that was more financially driven than creatively satisfying.
The ninth-generation Charlestonian spent 37 years in a high-tech career that took her away from home before she moved back to start an “encore career” as a full-time artist.
Mayland’s work is largely impressionistic and deeply influenced by her beloved Lowcountry. “My grandparents owned a farm on Wadmalaw Island,” says the artist, who also likes to create the occasional abstract and welcomes commissions. “As a child, I built tree forts in live oak trees, played in the pluff mud of the marshes and galloped my horse through Lowcountry forests. Capturing the essence of that landscape in my art is a way of recapturing the joys of my youth. In each of my pieces, I endeavor to celebrate the magnificence of nature using thick paint, bold strokes and layer upon layer of color to evoke and express the symphony that is the Lowcountry—its unique light, mood and texture.”
