Maggie Perez Weakley has been creating art since she was a little girl. Her passion is to create artwork that evokes emotion. She became a professional artist when she received her BFA in Illustration from the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio. She began her career as an Art Director for Shoebox Greetings, a tiny division of Hallmark Cards, inc. in Kansas City, MO. She was in charge of the birthday, and everyday card lines worked directly with the editor on the card copy concepts, and then assigned them to the artists to create the hilarious greeting cards.
In 1993 Maggie moved back to Columbus and married her best friend, Kent. She began her freelance career as an illustrator, spanning over 36 years. She has worked for a variety of companies, sold her paintings to private collectors, and taught private art classes to children and adults, which she still does to this day.
In 2005 she launched Maggie’s Angels, a company based on commissioned pet portraits. She has always loved painting animals using bold colors and giving them a whimsical animated flare. She brings her unique voice to the easel with an unparalleled sense of color, personality, and spontaneity. She has done over 600 pet portraits to date and continues to receive commissions. You can find her work in private collector’s homes around the world. You can view her Pet Portrait Collection at MaggiesAngels.com
Besides all the Pet Portraits, Maggie has been creating daily paintings using a variety of mediums and styles. While doing these pieces, she’s found a passion for fluid art and resin materials and has created a water-themed art collection.
She loves the materials and the possibilities these mediums have. Composition, color, and contrast are the building blocks of her work. These paintings are filled with intriguing passages of layers built in a dream-like state.
Maggie is a Freelance Artist, and she also works part-time as the Administrator for Fine Arts For Ocala, FAFO, a non-profit that supports the Arts in Ocala. She has been with FAFO since July of 2014 and loves being part of this wonderful organization.
She is very involved in the art community and has also created many public art projects that can be seen throughout Ocala. In addition, she participates in art shows and fundraisers and has a passion for supporting animal-based charities and ocean clean-up organizations.
Maggie maintains an exciting online presence with her active social media posts on Facebook and Instagram. She sells her original art in local art shows, online, and on social media. Her collection also includes prints and product-based items.
Maggie loves living in Ocala, Florida, on her 4-acre farm with her husband Kent and two little Chihuahuas, Mio and Coco. She has two sons, Lucas, an Aerospace Engineer that lives in California with his wife Rachel, and her younger son Max, a Biologist and Photographer who lives in Orlando. She is one proud mama!
Maggie’s love for the ocean began at a very young age when her family vacationed at the beach, which solidified her passion for creating her current work; “The Water Collection”. Living in Florida has made accessing the beach easy, and you can often see Maggie walking the shores collecting treasures, and drawing inspiration from the ocean, which she now uses in all her work. She creates one-of-a-kind functional art and paintings using mixed media, acrylics, and epoxy resin.
