Written by: Bill Sievert

Since the very earliest days of his childhood Aaron Marable recalls that, “I always had a spiral notebook and a pen or pencil in my hands. I would draw everyday-things like salt-and-pepper shakers and bugs. I would draw my family members and friends, and I was using symbolism without even understanding what symbolism is.”  

With his parents and sister, Justine, Aaron spent about half of his first decade in a suburban Detroit neighborhood and the rest visiting his grandparents’ farm where he was exposed to nature.  

When Aaron was 10, his family moved down to Central Florida, where he found it easier to make new friends when he showed the other kids his drawings. During his school years, his teachers all took notice of his passion. His parents became aware of his fervor for art, too, receiving phone calls and notes from school officials complaining that “Aaron is neglecting his schoolwork and drawing during all his classes.”  He began to explore the idea of pursuing a career in the arts. After taking several art classes in high school, he decided that graphic design would be the best choice.    

Aaron gravitated to his art classes, learning different techniques and discovering for the first time that artists have been changing the world since the dawn of time. The classes were his first exposure to the dynamic influence of art and its historical significance. “The moment I realized that art required a great deal of mastery was when I saw a picture of Michelangelo’s sculpture of Moses. I knew that art could be profound and powerful.”  

Aaron found a new level of motivation and even completed a college-credit portfolio during high school in hopes of making it into an art college on a scholarship. He did, and attended Florida School of the Arts from 1998 – 2000 on a full scholarship for graphic design. It was there that he became acquainted with theater majors, musicians, singers, photographers, dancers, painters, writers and many creative thinkers.  

He absorbed everything he could and carved out an understanding that “my purpose is to take art as far as I can. Art has an ability to make positive changes, and it is my vehicle, my attempt to help create a more beautiful, peaceful world.”  

Although Aaron was majoring in graphic design, he felt increasingly compelled to dedicate his life to fine arts. “When I started painting with oils, I fell head over heals in love. I knew that I had found a partner for life.”  

Aaron found another love during his two years in college. He began hiking and camping. Introduced to the renowned outdoor writer Johnny Molloy, who has published hiking guides to numerous states as well as tent camping guides to Florida, Colorado, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Smoky Mountains. Aaron started going on hiking trips with Johnny through the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, paddling rivers in Florida and finding a love for nature that merged with his love for art. Johnny sent Aaron and his college buddy on a six-week road trip out west camping and hiking through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.  

“The process of hiking up a mountain one step at a time is so much like creating a painting. It’s a struggle; it exposes you to raw beauty and it gets you back to the basics of life. Experiencing nature makes you want to acknowledge and share it with people.”  

After his adventures in the West, Aaron returned to Florida and worked as a graphic designer for firms in Gainesville and Leesburg for a couple years. Desperate to surround himself with other creative people, he moved to Savannah, Georgia, home of the Savannah College of Art and Design. He spent a year painting and immersed himself in the local art scene, hanging out with art professors and students alike. During a trip to visit friends in Jacksonville, Florida, he decided that the north Florida city offered even more opportunity to pursue a professional career in the arts. Aaron and his college friends Shaun Thurston, Casey Fletcher and Mactruque, moved into an old commercial building that was being converted into a complex for artists. “We spent every day and night painting, critiquing, philosophizing, living, breathing and eating art.”  

Aaron landed a job at a scenic art studio, Mugwump Productions, designing stage sets, backdrops, props and themed environments. “I learned more in the first three months in Jacksonville than I did during two years in college.”  

His desire to paint on a large scale started at Mugwump, but he was offered a job that would become a catalyst to his goals as a painter. Aaron was hired by James Swope Fine Arts and Conservation to help restore the damaged ceiling murals of the Flagler College in St. Augustine. The panels had been designed by the Tiffany Company in the 1860s, and it took three months of detailed restoration work to restore them. This large project required the skills to scrape away the damaged areas, re-plaster, prime, silver and gold leaf, sketch and paint large sections to blend with the old Italian Renaissance murals.  

After completing the job, Aaron moved back to Central Florida to start a business painting custom murals and decorative finishes. He got his first big job (literally) painting a vaulted wall in the living room of Henry and Ella Paets in downtown Mount Dora. He depicted a scene of South France in three weeks, painting it entirely in oils. Since that job, Aaron has completed several other murals in the greater Orlando area.  

He plans on making his mark in Central Florida, creating large-scale works in a photorealistic style. “I’m trying to raise the bar when it comes to painting murals. I base them on classical principles of fine art. They’re highly detailed and not rushed. I always want my newest project to be the best work I’ve ever done. And I want to enhance the quality of life for those who view my work every day.”