About Mary
In the last year, I have been painting around Monkton near the small horse farm where my husband and I and other assorted animals live . My paintings are smaller and brighter than they used to be. I have also been making small reduction block prints, printed by hand instead of with the big press I used to use. At Manor Mill, the neighborhood community art center and gallery, I have had the pleasure of teaching other people how to make these block prints; the results have been astonishing!
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Ragged Island Retreat
After 3 years of staying at home, mostly in quarantine, I returned to Nova Scotia and discovered a whole new peninsula and a new way of thinking about paint. Being there this time, when I thought I might never get another chance, felt very emotional. I loved seeing it all again, and as I took it all in, the sensation of lightly dragging a brush with sparing layers of color across the rough linen, was like a caress. Each pass added a veil of light and atmosphere. I wasn't thinking of this at the time, but later have liked to imagine that one could go through the veils and end up actually being inside the painting, more deeply in touch than ever with that world that means so much to me.
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Dogs on EdgeOil on linen panel, 10" x 12", 2022
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BoathouseOil on linen, 8" x 10", 2022
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Cliff HouseOil on linen, 8" x 10", 2022
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Back Harbor, LockeportOil on linen, 9" x 12", 2022
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Green Harbor from West HeadOil on linen panel, 10" x 12", 2022
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West Head GazeboOil on linen, 11" x 14", 2022
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Morning CoveOil on linen, 8" x 10", 2022
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Lockeport BayOil on linen, 8" x 10", 2022
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Louis Head with DogsOil on linen, 10" x 16", 2022
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Ragged IslandOil on linen, 12" x 16", 2022
Prints 2021-22
A reduction block print I made for Valentine's Day in 2021 got me started with this medium. I liked
the way the rubbery speedo blocks and water soluble inks left an uneven surface that allowed colors from the previous layers to show through. I didn't mind if the registration was not perfect. They had softer edges and looked like paintings; I liked this. In "Red Scent" from 2022, I went further and scuffed up the surface deliberately; it glinted and shimmered like intaglio.
My 5 year old grandson brought on the monotypes: he wanted to make musical instruments!
the way the rubbery speedo blocks and water soluble inks left an uneven surface that allowed colors from the previous layers to show through. I didn't mind if the registration was not perfect. They had softer edges and looked like paintings; I liked this. In "Red Scent" from 2022, I went further and scuffed up the surface deliberately; it glinted and shimmered like intaglio.
My 5 year old grandson brought on the monotypes: he wanted to make musical instruments!
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The Heart of WinterReduction Block Print, 4" x 6", 2021
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CantaloopsReduction Block Print, 4" x 6", 2021
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SerpentwineReduction Block Print, 4" x 6", 2021
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Car-routesReduction Block Print, 6" x 4", 2022
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FjordReduction Block Print, 4" x 6", 2021
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Only RoseReduction Block Print, 6" x 4", 2021
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Red ScentReduction Block Print, 4" x 6", 2022
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HydraulicReduction Block Print, 11 3/4" x 7 1/2", 2022
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AlleluiaMonotype, 9" x 12", 2022
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Heart StringsMonotype, 12" x 9", 2022
Monkton Spring Summer and Fall 2022
Colorful trees and fields not far from Home!
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Verdant ValleyOil on linen, 18" x 24", 2022
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Verdant Valley IIOil on linen, 14" x 18", 2022
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Riding OutOil on linen, 8" x 8", 2022
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DandelionsOil on linen, 10" x 12", 2022
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Roadside Red BudsOil on linen, 12" x 16", 2022
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Redbud FenceOil on linen, 10" x 16", 2022
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Willow Oaks Sapphire PondOil on linen, 16" x 20", 2022
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Prospect AutumnOil on canvas, 19" x 22", 2022
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Atlanta HallOil on linen, 19" x 22", 2022
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Summer Storm, Watters MeetingOil on linen, 18" x 24", 2022
Seasonal Paintings 2021
These are mostly small, quick, and shaggy outdoor paintings, attempting to capture some effects of afternoon light and moving air. Most were done at the end of a long day spent on other things.
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IrisOil on linen, 14" x 18", 2021
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FlamerOil on linen, 12" x 12", 2021
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His MajestyOil on linen, 8" x 8", 2021
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Her HighnessOil on linen, 8" x 8", 2021
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East of AndorOil on canvas, 22" x 28", 2021
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Turner Road StudioOil on linen, 12" x 16", 2021
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Turner Road PondOil on linen, 16" x 18", 2021
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Long PondOil on linen, 9" x 17", 2021
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Hallowe'en HayOil on linen panel, 10" x 12", 2021
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Oldtime Milking ParlorOil on linen, 10" x 16", 2022
Paintings 2020
I painted these colorful, airy landscapes more like drawings in the summer of 2020 and they offered a break from the dark, closed-in months of quarantine.
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Neighbor PondOil on linen, 22" x 28", 2020
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Manner PondOil on linen, 22" x 28", 2020
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Rutledge TruckOil on linen, 26" x 29", 2020
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Rutledge Farm
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Lemon RoadOil on canvas, 18" x 24", 2020
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Manner Pond IIOil on linen, 22" x 28", 2020
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Autumn RidgeOil on linen, 20" x 30", 2020
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Thanksgiving--DunmoreOil on linen, 24" x 36", 2020
Along the coast in southwestern Nova Scotia
In the late summer, I paint along the southwest coast of Nova Scotia. The air can be cool and vaporous when rain or fog are on the way, while at other times, above and below you see the bluest of blues.
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Ocean Barrieroil on linen, 10" x 12", 2014
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Estuary Fogoil on linen, 14" x 18", 2013--15
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Coffinoil on linen, 10" x 12", 2015
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Horse Head, Beach Meadowsoil on linen, 14" x 18", 2015
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Little Port l'HébertOil on linen, 9" x 12", 2016
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Gull RockOil on linen panel, 10" x 12", 2018
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Blue IslandOil on linen panel, 10" x 12", 2018
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House on the RocksOil on linen panel, 10" x12", 2018
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Jones HarborOil on linen, 8" x 10", 2018
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Outcrop Rock, Johnstons BeachOil on linen panel, 10" x 12", 2019