Bernice's Bakery First Friday Show
Missoula
March 7, 2025
05:00 PM
Maureen (Mo) Seel is a Missoula native and lover of animals and the great outdoors. This is reflected in her work, which is a combination of reality and whimsy, painting worlds in which to live, dream, and imagine. She is inspired by the magical works of artists like Arnold Lobel, Beatrix Potter, and Hayao Miyazaki. She currently lives and works in Missoula, MT, spending her time hiking, drinking coffee, and hanging out with her two cats, Dory and Nemo (who are frequently featured in her work).
“If anybody could have used one word to describe me when I was little, chances are it was “imaginative”. Whether I was pretending to be my alter ego, “Jelly Keller”, playing games with my imaginary friend, Posie, or telling stories of the party-loving caterpillars in our wooded backyard, my mind was a busy beehive of ideas and stories waiting to be told.
With age, however, came “real world” responsibilities, bills, and “goals” for the future. Pretty soon, there was no time or energy for imagination left at the end of a day spent at a job that had no use for it. I grew up. But after ten years, a big move to the “Big Apple”, and triumph over personal struggles, the creative side of me sprang to life in the form of storybook illustrations brimming with beauty and color.
My art is inspired by the stories and illustrations I grew up with like stories of “Frog and Toad”, “The Little Prince”, and “The Velveteen Rabbit”. My greatest hope is that the art I create reminds everyone that the child in us doesn’t have to grow up, as long as we dare to give ourselves permission to dream.”
