Columbia muralist Marian Pouch worked with the homeowner on the bathroom walls to create a unique pattern that incorporated colors from fabrics being used in the adjacent child’s bedroom.
Marian Pouch’s career as a muralist is somewhat of a happy accident. She grew up enjoying art while watching her artist mother, Melanie Pouch. Following in her footsteps, as an adult today she gets paid literally to draw on walls.
Especially as a senior at J.L. Mann Academy in Greenville, Marian thrived under the tutelage of Steve Garner, the art teacher whom she credits for encouraging her interest. During her senior year, she was able to spend most of her time in the art room because she had finished all of her college placement classes. Grants allowed her to work with special mediums, like encaustics, which is painting with hot wax. “I made a 6-foot collage of the American flag to commemorate 9/11 that was hung in the cafeteria,” says Marian. The piece also honored the school’s mascot, the Patriots. “It was neat to leave something of mine at the school.”
By her senior year in high school, Marian chose to attend Clemson University, where she spent one year studying art. Then, she started to question the choice. “I couldn’t figure out how I would ever make money at it,” says Marian. So, she switched majors and got her degree in communications, which she never used.
“In my 20s, I worked several different jobs and always painted on the side for fun and to make a little extra money,” she says, “but I never considered a true career as a full time artist. When my oldest son was a small baby, I wasn’t working but needed to find a way to generate income. I began painting much more and really focused on building an Instagram following and participating in local art shows. Becoming a muralist was not my plan at all.
“I was updating a bathroom and wanted to wallpaper it, but it was going to be so expensive,” Marian continues. “I would have to cut so much paper away and would have so much waste.” The answer to her question of what to do in the bathroom came from a friend who suggested she paint a mural rather than hang wallpaper. It was then that she recalled her mother’s mural painting and thought it would be the perfect solution. “I finished it and posted pictures on Instagram, and that’s how mural painting started for me,” she says. Still, it was a while before Marian realized that she could paint murals as a career. “The people in Greenville were so supportive of me.” Before she knew it, she had a large clientele there.
Painting murals, as well as producing custom paintings and pet portraits, kept Marian busy. Today, while she still takes some commissions, she concentrates most of her time on murals. She now lives in Columbia. “I still have a lot of clients in Greenville, Charlotte, and Charleston,” says Marian, “anywhere I can go in a day.” As when she lived in Greenville, picking up clients in Columbia took a little while. Now, she has steady work. A normal week for Marian includes producing two murals.
Murals offer homeowners the gift of uniqueness, creativity, and handcrafted customization. “I think they’re so special,” Marian says. “They feel like a painting on your wall and create a different sentimentality than other artwork.” As one can imagine, Marian has had many opportunities to create custom murals that are unique to the homeowner. “I had one customer who wanted a Lowcountry themed mural because they spent a lot of time at the beach,” she says. “I painted a few alligators, a hawk, and some other animals that they usually look for when on vacation. It was a lot of fun to see the children come home and search for the hidden animals.”
Marian also paints geometric murals, which take a lot of measuring and tape. However, she really enjoys painting freehand. “Freehand, when I don’t have to trace a pattern first, feels more artistic to me,” says Marian. “I feel I am using my talent when I can incorporate my own style of painting.”
Marian posts before and after photographs on Instagram to show the difference a mural can make in transforming a space. “You might like a room with plain walls,” she says, “but when you see it with the texture of paint or metallics, it catches light in the room and changes the feel of the space so much.” Marian usually tells people to think about the surrounding rooms when deciding what they want their mural to look like. “Some people know what they want; others don’t have any idea,” says Marian.
With the latter, she has to put on her interior design hat. She asks to see pictures of their other rooms to get a sense of their style. “I want there to be flow from room to room, so it doesn’t look disjointed,” says Marian. “With home clients, if it’s something I’ve never done before, I might do a sample on canvas or on a big sheet of paper.” While Marian enjoys freestyle, if she is designing a corporate mural, something very specific to a brand or logo, she will draw it on her iPad, then the company can approve it before it goes on the wall.
Some people call and say that her mother, Melanie, painted a mural for them 20 years ago and they want another. To Marian, it is a testament to how special murals are. “It’s fun to see people for a second project and build those relationships because I don’t have coworkers,” she says. Marian finds camaraderie with fellow muralists she knows through Instagram.
“It’s nice to have a network of people that are doing what I’m doing,” she says. “It doesn’t feel competitive. Everyone is helpful and wants to share advice.” Marian likes to say that you never run out of walls to paint; there are plenty for everyone, and every muralist has their own style.
As many women know, juggling motherhood and a job is not a simple thing. “I think sometimes with Instagram, it looks like life is perfect. I try to post the messy things, too.”
The freedom she has to make her own schedule allows her to work only a couple of days a week so she can be home with her family the rest of the time. “It’s the best of both worlds,” says Marian of her work-life balance.
A great benefit of her work that Marian enjoys is seeing her clients’ beautiful homes. Sometimes she is able to bring the decor ideas she sees in their homes into her own. “I’m always changing things around in my house,” she says. “My 4 year old told his teacher that my job is moving chairs around all day! For this stage of life, it is great because I get to use my creativity, to paint, and get paid for it.” Marian is fortunate to spend her life doing what we all wish we could do — and get paid for it: drawing on walls.
