Mary Jill Lemieur is an artist and illustrator working in northern Michigan. M.J. earned her fine arts degree (majoring in graphic design) at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After more than a decade of interesting work as a freelance designer, she switched her focus to fine art and illustration.

A multi-media artist, Mary Jill works in watercolors, oils, acrylics, pen and ink, pastels, graphite, silver point and digital painting.

M. J. has created a series of unique paintings called the "Brushfolks" Watercolors - imaginative animal, bird and pet silhouettes filled with interlocking figures. This painting style begins with a swirl of watercolor washes and brush strokes, then the positive and negative shapes are changed into animals or birds which fit together like puzzle pieces. A bit of imagination and lots of detail are added to visually tell the "story" of the subject.

In the last few years most of her work has consisted of challenging commission work of a highly custom nature.  She paints stunningly realistic memorial portraits of people, kids and pets in watercolor or digital mixed media. She finds it fulfilling to create art which brings the clients' ideas to life on canvas - meaningful artwork which gives the emotional impact of joy or healing.

Currently, in between painting dogs, cats, cows, rabbits and other commissions, M.J. is finishing up the last few animal illustrations for a children’s book called “Pinky and the Green Bean Can Do Club."

M.J.’s paintings are in collections in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia, and on her website/gallery:  www.maryjill.com.