Mitch Marr once had another life high in the clouds flying for the U.S. Forestry Service, flying as a pilot for Air France and as a multi-national flight examiner working in a government program between the U.S. and Mexico. Now his days are spent on land creating varied art forms that seem to come to him as easily as reading a book. Before retiring in 1981, Mitch spent many months flying over Mexican terrain and landing in many states and doing business in many Jalisco areas. Eventually he and his wife settled at lakeside because they both fell in love with the area. “I don’t think you find places,” he said, “I think they find you.”
They bought a home in Ajijic and Mitch found himself totally immersed in remodelling, personally doing all the work himself except for the help of a few workmen. “I just did it and seemed to know how to proceed,” he said. Further inquiries into his background provided clues to that answer. As a child he was dyslexic and school was a nightmare in all areas except drawing. At a young age he won an art scholarship, but his father did not want an artist in the family and withheld the information from him.
He then turned to flying and it became his passion. As a teen he worked all sorts of jobs, saving to take lessons and buy his own plane. He had his airplane and his pilot’s license at age seventeen and from that time on until he retired in Mexico, flying was his love and his vocation. The year, 1992 found him divorced, the house finished and too much time on his hands. To fill the void he began to fashion model boats and ships; a tedious hobby that required unlimited patience and dexterity. Often he would take a break by watching TV, but he would always have a pad of paper on his lap and would find himself doodling on the paper until he had produced reams of paper containing thousands of doodles that seemed to be figures in movement and usually in a dancing mode. In his youth, Marr danced every chance he got, often sneaking down to the local dance hall in Oakland, California. Thus the doodles evolved into charming, graceful pen and ink figures; often fluid and delicate dancing partners or solo line drawings all seemingly in motion.
Once the pencil touches the pad it never stops. Ideas come to him as he watches TV and the pencil moves nearly as fast as his thoughts. Tree trunks have become a repetitive theme and time spent in the Orient influences many of his nature pen and inks. His almost signature tree trunks sprout intertwining branches that suggest male and female forms Often the drawings could be perceived as psychological. He has done hundreds of these intricate designs. From only one lesson in calligraphy I saw strips of matboard containing beautiful designs that could easily translate into elegant fabric or wallpaper. With no formal training, Mitch shows great precision in his drafting ability. He has also branched out into sculpting. Using local wood and studying the grain and shape he allows the wood tell him what to do. His field of vision seems to be never-ending and to be able to implement those dreams has given him much pleasure in his retirement years.
The artistic works of this talented and complicated man may be viewed at the Sellers-Schwartzman gallery in Ajijic.
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