by houstonwine | Dec 24, 2013 | Paintings, People
Mary visited Estonia several years ago. Mary watched a basket weaver at work in a rural life museum. Her intense focus and large muscular arms inspired this painting. Share...
by houstonwine | Mar 10, 2013 | Nature, Paintings
Mary studied Van Gogh’s Almond Blossoms painting and used his painting technique to create a painting of her own that she calls “La Primavera”. Share...
by houstonwine | Nov 28, 2012 | Nature, Paintings
Mary visited Monet’s house, gardens, and studio in Giverny, France several years ago. She decided to study the techniques used in one of the most famous French Impressionist paintings by Monet. It also happened to be one of the last paintings Monet sold....
by houstonwine | Oct 31, 2012 | Uncategorized
Mary recently visited the “Becoming Van Gogh” exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. She had previously visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The Denver Art Museum described its exhibit as follows: “An in-depth exploration of Vincent van Gogh’s...
by houstonwine | Oct 27, 2012 | Nature, Paintings
Mary is working on a series of aspen tree paintings she calls “The Four Seasons”. She hikes Echo Mountain near Evergreen, Colorado every three months to collect possible subjects for her Aspen paintings....
by houstonwine | Oct 13, 2012 | Sculpture
Mary finished her second sculpture in a half-day class at Tom Ware’s Warehouse Gang Studio in September, 2012. She used Edgar Degas’ techniques to fashion her second sculpture which she calls Degas’ Model in Repose. Share...
by houstonwine | Jul 9, 2012 | Sculpture
Mary took her first sculpture class in July of 2012. The class was taught by her Colorado neighbor, Tom Ware, Tom is a longtime resident of Evergreen where he has a studio on the shores of Evergreen Lake. Every Thursday for over 34 years he has opened his studio...
by houstonwine | Jul 8, 2012 | Uncategorized
Mary discovered a fantastic easel designed by Denver artist David Sorg. It is known as the Sorg Easel. It has a series of pulleys and weights that allow her to move her work up and down with very little effort and with no adjustments. Mary is convinced it is the...
by houstonwine | Dec 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
Mary studied the art of the French Impressionists in the late 80’s and early 90’s. These are examples of the many works she painted in this period of her life. Share...
by houstonwine | Dec 15, 2011 | Drawings
Mary drew this charcoal and pencil sketch in 2009 for her childhood friend Rosie who was battling lung cancer and was in serious need of a guardian angel. The sketch was based on a photo of a Rastafarian on the island of Grenada. Mary called the sketch...
by houstonwine | Dec 15, 2011 | Drawings
Mary drew this sketch at a workshop taught by Tony Ryder in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2007. The sketch was meant to be an under-painting for an oil portrait. The model decided, on an impulse, to wrap a scarf around her head which led Mary to give her sketch the title...
by houstonwine | Dec 15, 2011 | Drawings
Mary attended a J.D. Hillberry workshop in Denver where she learned to draw realistic pencil and charcoal drawings of older people with wrinkled skin. She learned that an artist needs a keen understanding of the way that light bends around the curves and wrinkles of...
by houstonwine | Dec 14, 2011 | Paintings, People
Mary is fascinated by the techniques used by Renaissance portrait painters. In this work, she practiced the techniques of Raffaello Sanzio who is popularly known by the name Raphael. Raphael painted his portrait of his friend Baldassare Castiglione in 1514. ...
by houstonwine | Dec 9, 2011 | Paintings, People
Mary admires the Dutch Masters and their use of light. She practiced Johannes Vermeer’s painting techniques in this 2011 painting that she completed in her studio in Colorado. Like the Dutch Masters, she used 12 layers of paint and worked from the dark...
