Stamford”™s Palace Theatre has been closed since the Covid-19 pandemic took root, but some much-needed razzmatazz has been added to the darkened venue”™s Atlantic Street glass windows: a brightly kaleidoscopic mural titled “Stars for the Stars” featuring hundreds of abstract stars in varying sizes and colors floating beneath a curtain of lush clouds.
“Stars for the Stars” is the creation of Marla Beth Enowitz, a Rye Brook-based artist and founder of Marla Beth Designs, which is a new business that creates abstract expressionist paintings and murals on commission.
“I started the business in June of last year during the quarantine,” Enowitz said. “It was a way for me to express myself and it was very medicinal for me ”” I really didn”™t expect anything more than to just share what I was doing during my quarantine time.”
Enowitz had no previous experience starting a business ”” she admitted to a “short career in advertising” prior to her 10 years as a stay-at-home mother ”” and her art training was anything but academic.
“My education started with Bob Ross at seven years old,” she said, referring to the iconic host of the long-running PBS series “The Joy of Painting.”
“I set up my easel in my parents”™ living room and did everything he did. And he was a fabulous teacher.”
Although the Marla Beth Designs website refers to Enowitz”™s work as abstract expressionism, she prefers to define her work as “happy art” ”” and, indeed, her bright colors and bold patterns certainly create a degree of artistic jollity.
Enowitz initially began sharing her work via social media, but word-of-mouth spread much faster than she anticipated and she soon began fielding requests for original work. To date, she has received more than 40 large-scale commissions from across the country, with original works of approximately 5 feet by 6 feet in measurement.
“I now have over 3,300 followers on Instagram ”” people find me and it”™s really unbelievable,” she said. “I”™m shipping a big piece to Tucson, Arizona this week.”
Last fall, Enowitz received her first commission for a publicly displayed work for a 600-square-foot mural at The Westchester mall in White Plains. The work, titled “Gumballs,” is painted on the glass of the former Justice store and brings a startling burst of multiple hues to the cavernous space. Enowitz completed the work in the span of two weeks and received something of a workout in the process.
“It is about 14 feet high, so I really got up there ”” and I”™m a tiny person,” she laughed.
With the Palace Theatre mural, Enowitz sought to channel the venue”™s impact on the public imagination during the pre-pandemic era.
“To have that closed during Covid is such a loss for the public and the performers,” she said. “My inspiration was a gesture to the performers, with the hope that they will come back soon. This was just a little red carpet to roll out for when things can proceed in the world again.”
Enowitz worked in acrylic paints on “Stars for the Stars” and used a variety of brushes to achieve different textural results. And while creative work is achieved in a solo execution, she admits that she receives some extra help when her “dear husband will come along to drop off” the ladders needed for the upper edges of the work.
Enowitz is now planning her third public work at The Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown Heights and is offering a line of canvases via her website for which she will donate the profits to the art program at The Arc Westchester, a nonprofit assisting the developmentally disabled.
“I”™m just doing a lot and enjoying every minute of it,” she said.
