Doris Anne Holman

When Doris Anne Holman puts paintbrush to paper, something magical happens for both her and the creative materials she is working with. As the writer, artist, and illustrator of 12 children’s books and hundreds of paintings and commissioned work, she has carved out a name for herself in the field. In addition to painting and writing books, she spent many years as an art teacher, instilling her passion for the arts to generations of young minds. She began teaching elementary school in 1959 and taught throughout her career. Doris Anne retired from teaching in 1997. Wondering where her life might take her next, God’s inspiration came to her one night and He guided her to write down the words to a book she titled “Come with me to the sea,” a book about the Maine ocean written for children. After she wrote the words to the book, she asked “OK, what am I supposed to do with this now?” She soon realized that she was supposed to continue to illustrate it with her watercolors and then publish it, later taking the book into schools and libraries to use as a lesson for young readers. This first book led to writing, illustrating, and publishing 11 more books for elementary school-aged children to teach about endangered wildlife species, birds, and nature.  Doris Anne Holman also authored a book for adults called “Watercolor Sparkles”, teaching simple beginner techniques to new artists. In 2023, Ms. Holman published another book for adults titled “Heavenly Music Light and Fragrance: One Man’s Journey to Heaven,” which is “a story of love, faith, family, and the comfort of God through visits from angels.” For more on this new achievement, go to the Professional Narrative page. 

With her impressive professional history, Ms. Holman has many career highlights to celebrate. One such achievement was running a workshop in Bermuda in 1998 through the Dockyard Art Center. People from all over the world attended the center. One woman who came to the center bought a painting for herself and one for Masterworks, an art center in Bermuda, where it was matted, framed and added to the collection.

Coming from a family of educators, Ms. Holman was encouraged to become a teacher. She had always had her heart set of being an artist, but figured she could marry these two interests. She first earned a Bachelor of Science at Goucher College and then received a master’s degree in reading at Loyola College (now Loyola University of Maryland). She remained committed to learning through her career and furthered her skill set with postgraduate coursework in art at the University of Maine in the early 1980s.

Ms. Holman is proud of being selected by Vincent Hartgen (University of Maine) to show with museums in the 1970s through 2018. She was in show #3 with Vincent Hartgen and Frances Hammabe and has exhibited in other shows with her children’s books and watercolors. She maintains professional affiliation with the Maine Arts Commission.