Originally from Yorkshire in England, Maria Woods is a freelance photographer, illustrator and commercial artist, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been in this business for more than 20 years and has more than 2,000 licensed designs in giftware, children’s books, greeting cards, and fine art prints. She’s been painting and drawing from an early age – encouraged by her dad, who’s a fantastic self-taught artist. They would go outdoors together to sketch, and she’d experiment with acrylics and oils in her father’s little garage studio. Maria studies graphic design after which she worked in advertizing, moving to the studios of one of the largest greeting card companies in the UK, where she learnt every aspect of greeting card production from lettering and artwork to printing and finishing. She became freelance in 1990 and continued to produce artwork for some of the most innovative companies in the world. She loves the way her art constantly evolves and is so fashion-led.
Her travels through Europe have strongly inspired her art. She’s passionate about pattern, color and texture. Now living in California with her husband, Mark, Maria is embracing a whole new world of inspiration. Her styles are diverse, using acrylics, pencil and watercolor, but she also embraces digital technology and use her art, photography and scans, to create digital collages. Each of her art prints is handmade with love using the finest inks and archival papers. Maria’s art has found its way into many people hearts and can be found adorning the wall of many homes, not only in California but the world over.
