"Miles Davis bends the notes. He doesn't play them. I bend the paint."
Williem de Kooning
In both life and my abstract paintings, darkness and light coexist in a ballet of contrasts. Something I fully understood after overcoming a chronic illness that had previously sapped my vitality and creativity.
Starting that dance of opposites begins with a very loose sketch full of shapes and vibrant colors that I nurture onto the canvas.
Always beginning with vigorous line work, moving quickly I allow the brush to sweep through me and across the canvas. I suspend expectations and silence my thoughts which allows new discoveries to emerge.
My focus is on process, color and line but composition and structure prevail.
The objective is not perfection. Sharing my joy and gratitude for life is.
MARY JAMES | Artist
Lives & Works in
San Antonio, TX
My invitation to the viewer: Step into this art and ignite your own imagination and interpretation as I provide a playground for discovery.
Bio
A folded piece of paper changed Mary’s life course. After an elective course in college, The Elements and Principles of Design, Mary wanted to pursue a career in the arts. She found herself fascinated by the 3-dimensional graphic design resulting from folded pieces of paper. She earned a degree in Interior Design and worked in that field for years. One of her favorite roles was assisting clients with their art acquisitions or curating their collections. This is when her interest in fine art first blossomed.
Due to a debilitating and chronic health condition, Mary had to pause her professional life for years. At the time, she was encouraged by a therapist to dream a dream that seemed impossible. That dream was to become an artist..
Today Mary lives in San Antonio and is a full-time artist. She began her fervent study of painting after her recovery. She studied at the San Antonio School of Art for years and then with numerous renowned national and international artists in workshops and online courses.
Mary’s paintings are primarily acrylic and mixed media on canvas. Her expressive paintings focus on movement, color, and line and are painted in a non-objective abstract style. She attributes Willem de Kooning as her early inspiration.
Mary is an award-winning artist and her art is in private and corporate collections across the United States. She is represented by Art Gallery Prudencia and St. James Place in San Antonio, TX. Mary has been selected for several juried shows in Texas and has shown in many exhibits, both group and two-person, across South Texas and online. She looks forward to her solo exhibition in the fall of 2023.