MARIN ASHER once had a dream that she was swimming with a sea turtle. The experience was so vivid that she decided to put brush to canvas as a gift for her daughter, Amara, whom she was pregnant with at the time.
She then added the painting, which she titled “A Dream Come True,” to the substantial collection of art she has created over the years. It’s actually a mural on Amara’s bedroom wall.
For Asher, director of marketing for Larue Pest Control in Fort Myers, painting offers a release from the hectic pace life has to offer. “It is my creative outlet. It’s very therapeutic,” she says.
Asher favors watercolor as her medium. She describes the work as “abstract.” She particularly enjoys painting trees, although she’s open to working with other imagery—hence, the sea turtle.
The avocation took hold when Asher was a child. “I come from a long line of artists,” she says. Her maternal grandparents and great-grandparent were creative, but her mother, Christine Reichow, provided the most inspiration.
When the family lived in Howell, Michigan, they resided above a store where Reichow, a renowned watercolorist, sold her art-to-wear boutique and gallery. They moved to Southwest Florida in 2002.
In addition to using canvas, Asher has brightened up furniture with her art and even produced a children’s book titled My Friend Mr. Toad, which is abundant with fairies and elves.
“I love all art forms and anything that [inspires] creativity,” she says.
