From Autos to Art

Nov. 1, 2014

Second Career Blossoms for Antrim County Artist

During her 30 years as an assembly line worker at the Ford Motor Company plant in Wixom, Mich., Margie Guyot took on every task except spray painting and welding. However, thanks to a book that changed her life, the autoworker later made up for her lack of painting experience–but instead of coating cars, she created hundreds of stunning still lifes and landscapes.

"I didn’t want to teach or be a secretary," recalls the Morehouse State College grad. "So I went to Ford and was hired in 1978. Back then, if you were drug-free, could walk across the room and touch your toes, you got hired, but it was awful. Every day I thought, "˜When I’m done here, I want to live where the air is clean and there are woods and water.’" After retiring from Ford in 2007, Guyot moved to a rural six-acre site near Ellsworth and East Jordan. Here, the prolific painter works every day in her spacious, remodeled studio.

Painting with oils, Guyot produces still lifes that are jarringly colorful with bright oranges, greens and blues. Her landscapes capture the beauty and stillness of the Antrim County drumlins, forests and back roads. She’s also completed a food series, as well as a collection of automotive paintings, including a realistic Corvette portrait.

HOW I GOT STARTED

From my earliest memories of finger painting in the basement, I always enjoyed art. Growing up in Davenport, Iowa, I basked in the glory of being the school artist until high school. It was the era of abstract art. My teacher loved it, but I loved realism. The last straw was when he discovered I was also in band. "You can’t be in both band and art," he declared. So I dropped art at age 15 and majored in music out of spite.

Fifteen years later, I was loaned a copy of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. Flipping through the pages, I was impressed by the improvements of her high school students. If they could do it, so could I! I dutifully went through every assignment in the book. By the end–voila–I could draw!

During the hard years–the early ’80s–all I could afford were two pencils.

Eventually, Ford Motor Company called me back to work. Flying out to the Scottsdale Artists School became a possibility. I was the worst in the class, but I came back and painted and painted. I’ve studied with the best: Robert Bateman, Clyde Aspevig, Janet Fish, Daniel Gerhartz, Scott Christensen and others.

THE STORY BEHIND MY ART, MY INSPIRATION

It seems that artists have the ability to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, the way the sunlight hits a leaf, the way colors change, etc. I’m always searching for what looks amazing, whether it’s in a landscape or still life arrangement. If something doesn’t strike me as exciting, the painting will never turn out exciting either.

I enjoy painting both plein air landscapes and still lifes. Clyde Aspevig told our class, "Always paint from life. The answers are right in front of you." Bouncing around from still lifes to landscapes keeps me on my toes.

WORK I’M MOST PROUD OF

I’ve always felt that my still lifes were my best work. But this is a very tough area to find buyers in, or even a gallery willing to show them. People prefer local scenes. Good thing I enjoy painting landscapes– even in winter.

YOU WON’T BELIEVE

My degree is in music education. The only art classes I’ve had have been a handful of workshops. I’ve been to Peru three times, hiking the Inca Trail, sleeping on sandbars, bathing in the Amazon and studying the shamans. These days I play my saxophone with the Charlevoix Sax Quartet, Northwestern Michigan College Concert Band and Pine River Jazz Band. My high school art teacher said I couldn’t be in both band and art. My junior high band director said "It’s people like you who make this band sound bad!" I guess they’d both be turning over in their graves if they could see me now.

MY FAVORITE ARTIST

Joaquin Sorolla, a Spanish painter of landscapes and portraits. I think his work is amazing, especially his use of light and color.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING ARTISTS

Get a hold of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. Do all the exercises! Draw and paint all the time. If there’s something you really love to do, don’t let anybody stop you.

MY WORK CAN BE SEEN/PURCHASED

North Seas Art Gallery in Charlevoix and the Crooked Tree Art Center in Petoskey.