Muriel Louise Wilhelmi

Next, Muriel and Jerry moved further north to Florence, Oregon in 1991, where Muriel quickly submerged herself in that artisan community. She became a featured artist at the Backstreet Gallery, a co-op gallery of local artists on Bay Street in Old Town Florence. Muriel continued to sell her paintings and work as an attendant at the Backstreet Gallery, until her final year at the age of ninety.

The third group of reproductions were giclée or high-resolution inkjet prints that were done from about 1990 and afterwards. Some of the large sized prints were printed onto watercolor paper, making it more difficult to discern from an original piece.

In 1975, Muriel and Jerry moved to Mendocino, California, where they purchased the original Gordon house on Gordon Lane. The old farmhouse was a short walk from the ocean bluffs and was situated on seven acres with barns, a chicken coop, and a water tower. In this artisan community, surrounded by inspiration, Muriel took up art instruction and began painting prolifically. She attended a number of classes and workshops by renowned artists including Leonard Sheu, Charles Tito, Charles Becker, George Post, Olaf Palm, Don O'Neil, LaVere Hutchings, Tom Lynch, Tony Couch, and E. John Robinson.

In 1946, after WWII, Muriel met and married her lifelong partner, Eugene "Jerry" Jerome Wilhelmi. The couple headed west to California, where Jerry attended California State University, Chico, and Muriel began having their four children. By the early 1950s, they had moved to Costa Mesa, California, where Jerry became a metal shop teacher at the Santa Ana High School and Muriel started the Costa Mesa Preschool. By the mid 1970s, their children were grown, Jerry was ready to retire and Muriel wanted to get back to the garden, so they sold their preschool. They were ready for new adventures and headed for Northern California.

Muriel Louise Wilhelmi (May 5, 1925 - July 27, 2015) was an American artist who began painting professionally in the 1970s and continued until the end of her life at the age of ninety years. Muriel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and spent her adult life on the West Coast of the United States in California and Oregon. Muriel was inspired by her love of the simple life and painted typical Americana scenes, historical inns, the countryside, old barns, and seascapes. Her early works were oil paintings and later works done in watercolor were often reproduced in limited edition prints and cards.