Marcia Crumley is a Maine-based encaustic artist creating joyful, richly textured landscapes. She works out of a home studio in the Portland, Maine area and is represented by galleries across New England. Her art has been featured in numerous publications including Art New England, The Boston Globe, Maine Home + Design, and artmaine.
Art New England cover feature, Sept 2025
Maine encaustic artist Marcia Crumley’s painting October Marsh was featured on the cover of the premier arts magazine for New England. The issue also included a review of Marcia Crumley’s 2025 solo exhibit Finding Joy at the Blue Door Gallery in York, Maine. The publisher's note discusses the importance of "envelopes" - safe spaces we escape to for peace and quiet, contemplation, distraction, or solace, and describes October Marsh as one of these envelopes. "Let’s be grateful we can take a walk along the marshes of Cape Ann, MA, through the cover image by Maine artist Marcia Crumley....Crumley creates a beautiful envelope, a trusted path, and an ideal cover to inspire opening these pages.“
Maine Gallery + Studio Guide, solo show opening announcement, Sept 2025
The article provides opening details for Maine encaustic artist Marcia Crumley’s September & October 2025 solo exhibit Finding Joy at the Blue Door Gallery in York, Maine. “Finding Joy is about recognizing the delight and wonder found in simple, often unexpected, places. These paintings celebrate those times when the beauty of the natural world suddenly stops you in your tracks: Being mesmerized by a starry night sky, noticing how the brilliant oranges and golds of autumn foliage pop against the deep blue sky, or watching a kaleidoscope of monarch butterflies as they pass through on their annual migration.” The article also discusses Marcia Crumley’s layering process, with each piece containing up to 15-20 strata of pigmented wax.
Tourist & Town cover feature, November 2024
Maine artist Marcia Crumley’s vibrant autumn painting Golden Glow (36” x 18”) was featured on the cover of this weekly arts and culture magazine serving Maine’s southern coast. This was the third time her art was selected for a cover feature.
Tourist & Town cover feature, April 2022
Maine encaustic artist Marcia Crumley’s colorful painting Duet: Poppies and Clouds (24” x 24”) was featured on the cover of this weekly arts and culture magazine serving Maine’s southern coast. Marcia Crumley is known for her vibrant encaustic poppy paintings, which feature carved flower heads and significant texture. Her encaustic poppy series has been popular since its launch in 2020.
Art New England feature article, January 2021
The article interviews two New England artists on how they coped with, and responded to, the pandemic. For Marcia Crumley, the stay-at-home orders allowed her time to truly master the encaustic medium. “One of the things I really love about encaustics is how they seem to have a mind of their own—you never know exactly what’s going to happen when you use a blowtorch to fuse the paint. …It forces you to give up an element of control. In that sense, encaustics seem like a perfect medium for this pandemic.” And in this time of introspection and re-evaluation, encaustics offered a “tactile, very physical” process of carving and scraping to reveal “underlying layers,” offering its own form of art therapy.
The Cape Courier feature article, January 2021
An interview discussing Marcia Crumley’s upcoming two-person exhibit at the Concord Center for Visual Arts in Concord, MA. Crumley discusses artists who have influenced her work, including Marsden Hartley and Wolf Kahn. Marsden Hartley’s interpretation of the Maine landscape is a continual inspiration. “You can just feel how much he loved the mountains and lakes of western Maine. And Wolf Kahn is a contemporary painter who inspires me through his bold use of unexpected colors, and his continuous love affair with trees.”
Boston.com feature article, August 2014
Five of Marcia Crumley’s paintings were rented for the set of Matthew McConaughey’s film Sea of Trees, which was filmed in Worcester, MA. At the time, Marcia’s work was featured in articles in both The Boston Globe (now behind a paywall) and Boston.com. As for what happened to the paintings, and the film, well, that’s a long story. Just ask her about it some time!