BALTIMORE COUNTY â Nancy Billy Maher has no formal art training. But sometimes, God closes a door and puts a paintbrush in your hand.
Maher came to the Baltimore area in 1971 teaching fourth grade, and was a stay-at-home mom for 14 years before working part-time for a local preschool program. In the mid-90s, finding herself newly single and with grown kids, Maher was looking to make a little extra cash. So she started painting.
At a home in Bowleys Quarters last month, Maher had a two-part assignment â two bedrooms belonging to two young girls, one done in a jungle theme and one more like a storybook meadow, with pink flowers, brightly colored bushes and bunnies galore. Maher literally took stylistic inspiration from one of the girlâs favorite story books.