Mary Anne Kinane, a Midwesterner, is the oldest of 10 children and born in Chicago, Illinois. She briefly lived in France with parents while her father was in the service her first year. The Kinane family lived mostly in Aurora, Illinois and two years in Hibbing, Minnesota. Mary Anne loved making paintings as a child, a student, and a young adult. She was serious when she told her parents that she would be become an artist (age 12). She saved everything from small jobs in Illinois (some of which were custom art paintings or lettering). At 17, Mary Anne financed herself to attend St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa as an art student. She first learned calligraphy in Iowa.