Jan 10, 2026

This is a reprint of an article initially published by Bold Journey Magazine on December 29, 2025.

Mary Ahern shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Mary, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What is a normal day like for you right now?

Most days, I wake up without an alarm, and before I get out of bed, I enjoy a 30-minute stretching and meditation routine. Then I shower, have coffee & read the news on my laptop. Each day that the weather permits, I spend time in my garden either working, photographing, or just seeing and enjoying. By mid-afternoon, I head to my studio for hours of painting or drawing.

The slow start to my day begins the process of staying fit, both mentally and physically, in order to continue my decades-long practice of creativity. Connecting with my garden is critical, as it is where my artwork’s inspiration comes from. My two studios are custom-built in my home, allowing me total immersion in all aspects of the life I live and work in. They are seamless.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?

I am an artist with a fifty-year career in many forms and mediums of creativity. I began as an oil painter in the 1970s. During the 1980s and 90s, I moved into digital work as a career, first selling computer graphics equipment and later establishing my own graphic design business. No matter where I lived, I always carved out a studio for myself.

In the early 2000s, using a professional-leveI scanner, I captured live flowers from my garden, then composited the images in Photoshop. From these images I created what I called Designer Prints which I sold online and in art festivals in six different states. I created digital paintings of garden landscapes using Corel Painter. I programmed custom digital brushes to mimic the oil painting brushes I use to create my oil paintings on canvas for this artwork.

Over the past decade, I’ve returned exclusively to oil painting. What hasn’t changed is the inspiration I draw from my extensive garden, which I’ve designed and tended for over 35 years

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?

I was raised in Brooklyn, NY, in a very strict old European environment with no vision beyond being a wife and a mommy. Though I graduated from high school with academic honors, my family offered no further education, believing that educating women was a waste of money. Throughout Junior and Senior High School, I was in the orchestra and band music programs. At graduation, I conducted Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, having been awarded the music department honors. That was the final act of my musical career. With no further educational or career opportunities in my future, I married and had two sons.

In my later 20s, I began to draw. Never having had art classes in school because of my involvement with music, this was a completely new experience for me. From the moment I picked up a piece of charcoal and put it to paper, I felt like it was an extension of my own body. I began taking oil painting classes on Wednesday evenings at the local YMCA. A college professor friend of mine suggested I apply to college to study art. At the time, I didn’t even know a person could go to college as an older student. I applied. Was accepted. And my life changed dramatically.

Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?

I have been fortunate in this respect. I have had the benefit of several mentors and role models throughout my life’s journey. My friend Roberta, who told me I could and should go to college. Mary Ann, who showed me women could be executives, wealthy, and own sports cars. Martha, my mentor and boss, who steered me into a career in computers in the early 1980s, when this field was just dawning. This beginning opened a pathway into high-end technology sales, a field not populated by women and therefore better paid.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?

People who don’t really know me get me all wrong. My public persona has been sculpted by the challenging life and career I’ve experienced. Having worked as a single mother, in an almost totally male industry for quite a while, I’ve developed some of that style of speaking and traits such as assertiveness, competitiveness and confidence. Add to that the fact that I’m of Dutch heritage, which means I’m direct, opinionated, and rather straightforward. Many people, particularly women, misunderstand this about me.

My friends know me as a sensitive and empathetic human being. Generous and helpful with my time and energy when I believe I can make a difference. I’m serious and don’t engage in small talk, pop culture, or time fillers. I am easily bored. I have always, and continue to, take classes and workshops to expand my knowledge of a variety of subjects, including art, art history, horticulture, marketing, and writing.

I also have a balance between left- and right-brain thinking, which helps me in both creativity and logic. Though unusual in most artists, I enjoy this aptitude immensely.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Since I’m already 78, this is more of a question of what I have already stopped doing. When I turned 70, I closed my commercial graphic design business, although I still have a few legacy clients. Earlier this year, I resigned from a PR Chair position at a non-profit I had been dedicating about 30 hours a week to for the past 5 years. Working in a non-profit easily becomes a full-time job before you realize it because it is usually in an area in which you have passion.

I have replaced these efforts with a concentration on my own creativity. As an artist, I now have two solo exhibitions scheduled for next year and one for the year I turn 80. Creating that much artwork requires a full dedication to working in my studio every day. I am finding it liberating to focus entirely on my own work. I’m glad I made this choice! I’m glad I made this choice!

Image Credits
Images by Mary Ahern

Click here to read the reprinted article on Substack

Copyright © 2025 Bold Journey