My paintings of coastal tidelands encourage viewers to see and feel ourselves as part of the landscape, to cherish the natural world ensuring its special qualities are both valued and looked after. Inspiring others to steward the natural world, I translate gathered data such as onsite sketches, the tide table, and scientific research into paintings that engage an audience with emotional resonance.
mary blue’s ethos
My paintings reflect upon the impermanence of life and the forces of nature. I weave graphite tendrils of my poetry into layers of jewel-toned colours exposing the overlooked and hidden. I paint brilliant light and deep shadow, the far horizon and the passing of time. I am drawn to the delicate, the broken, the most fleeting, these are timeless and possess a powerful resonance. At the crossroads of Time and Nature, beauty remains. Paintings are begun on site in the landscape and finished in the studio from memory adding layers of colours, weaving in poetry, and textures. Standing along the edge of the water my aim with the work is to expand the viewer’s field of vision appealing to the senses sound, smell, the rush of air as waves crash at your feet reminding the viewer there are multiple angles to see the world. I seek to envelop the viewer enhancing experiences by somehow tapping into our humanity; reviving ancient traditions, rights of passage or epic journeys.
About mary blue
Mary received her Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 where she studied with Neil Welliver. Visiting Critiques included but not limited to Bill Jacklin, Harmony Hammond and Red Grooms. She also studied at the Vermont Studio, the Maryland Art Institute, and Ecole des Arts d’Avignon France. Her work is exhibited widely in galleries along the Norfolk coast, in London and abroad. She was shortlisted for the Sir John Hurt Art Prize in 2020, 2021, 2022. Mary designs immersive art experiences and is also an artist educator whose workshops delight and inspire the young and young at heart. Most summers you can find her as a regular participant at Paint Out Norfolk, an en plein air competition. She has travelled widely, is a playful adventurer with an insatiable curiosity about the universe that feeds her work as an artist.
