MARY GRAHAM

Open Studio 2011

2011-11-20T17:36:00.001-05:00

New Member's Show at the Copley Society: January 12th to February 14th, 2012

2011-11-20T15:43:00.001-05:00

Fire and Ice oil on linen, 36" x 48"

I recently joined the Copley Society of Art, the oldest non-profit art association in the United States, and this painting was chosen to be included in the New Members' show.

Please join me at the reception on

January 14th, 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Copley Society of Art

158 Newbury Street

Boston, MA 02116

(617) 536-5049

http://www.copleysociety.org/about/

6 x 6 Show at Randy Higbee Gallery

2011-11-20T15:15:00.001-05:00

Once again, I am participating in the Randy Higbee 6 x 6 show in Costa Mesa, CA .
The paintings can be purchased online at the gallery's website. More information here: http://randyhigbeegallery.com/Randy_Higbee_Gallery/Events.html

I will have a few additional 6 x 6 's at the Open Studio on December 9th. Do come take a look!

Non-Members' Show at Salmagundi Club in NYC

2011-08-20T13:32:00.007-04:00

I have a painting in the non-members' show at the Salmagundi Club in NYC, at 47 Fifth Avenue ( in the West Village) this month. Regrettably, I was not able to get down there for the reception, due to the fact that I just got back from two weeks in China and the jet-lag is intense! -twelve hour time difference. I am heading out again for a painting trip up the coast of Maine and to the White Mountains for the next couple of weeks. I have hardly seen the inside of my studio all summer, but I have had very rich experiences painting outdoors with the Hudson River Fellowship in the Catskills, on Monhegan Island, in the White Mountains, and in the Yellow Mountains (Huangshan) in China. (I'm hoping someday to have a full palette of mountain ranges). I hope to post more about these experiences in the weeks to come.

"Spruce" 28"x14", oil on linen panel

Solo Show at Soo Rye Gallery Opening in May

2011-05-01T21:31:00.002-04:00

Directions to the Gallery can be found here: http://www.soorye.com/about.php

Mountain Miniatures

2011-04-28T21:51:00.000-04:00

Two paintings, both 6x8 inches, of favorite places in the White Mountains:

Basin Pond oil on linen board, 6x8 inches

Basin Pond is in Evans Notch, and a lovely place for a summer picnic.

Mount Jefferson, oil on linen board, 6x8 inches

Mount Jefferson, as seen from the back of the Mount Washington Hotel, is part of the majestic Presidential range.

6 x 6 show at the Randy Higbee Gallery, Costa Mesa, California

2011-04-22T09:33:00.008-04:00

A show of 6 x 6 inch paintings. I am amazed at what some people can do in small spaces. Many of these paintings would be just as amazing ten times as large - it's very inspiring. Check out the other paintings on the Randy Higbee facebook page. I'd like to be more comfortable painting small - the advantages are many: less investment of materials, and [possibly] less time, a lot more convenient for plein air work, and there is something quite charming about little things....
I entered three pieces to the show, one was accepted, and was sold:

Beaver Meadow 6x6, oil on linen panel
SOLD from the Randy Higbee Gallery

Pines at Pond's Edge, 6x6, oil on linen panel
SOLD to a private collector

Pines at Dawn, 6x6, oil on linen panel
SOLD from the Sharon Arts Center, Peterborough NH

Master Artists Show at Soo Rye Art Gallery

2011-02-28T09:05:00.000-05:00

Soo Rye Art Gallery is located at 11 Sagamore Road, in Rye, NH
See the website for more information: www.soorye.com

Work in Progress

2011-02-28T08:46:00.001-05:00

I am working on a composition I started last summer, of one of the high mountain trails on Mt. Washington. I have been toying with the composition, changing the clouds, the rhythm of the mountains, and the rocks in the foreground.

I began by washing the panel (Claessens #13 linen over Gatorboard) with a thin wash of ultramarine blue and transparent red oxide, mottled together. I had worked out the composition in a drawing, which I gridded and transferred to the panel in thin paint (on the left).

The next stage involved washing in the colors of the hills in very thin oil. Because color is relative, I like to do this in order to have a sense of the values and colors I will be working with. Next I will paint the cloudy sky in thicker paint, then move forward through the composition bringing it to finish.

A New Year

2011-01-04T15:56:00.000-05:00

How do artists keep up a blog, and still find time to paint? Apparently, I'd rather be painting. However, I will try to put down a few thoughts here at least monthly.
In the past, I have used this forum to post new paintings before sending them to the website. The new website design is more user-friendly, and I can now post new work directly to the webpages.

Here's a few recent shots of the studio, which was cleaned, painted and hung with work for the Open Studio in December. It won't look this good again until next year...

The West Wall

The work area

The office - art book heaven!

On my easel

2010-11-22T22:31:00.003-05:00

Birches

These are three paintings I recently completed, inspired by hiking trips to the White Mountains in June and August. The two tall ones are 24 x 12 inches, and Forest Pool is 24 x 18". all on linen. They represent a bit of a departure for me in terms of painting. I think I have finally broken free of the impressionist influence that has been confusing me all these years. I have finally accepted the fact that I am not an impressionist by nature, yet, most of the outdoor landscape painting instruction I have had has been from this perspective, so I have been fighting myself to some degree. My color sense, I think, is more neutral and subdued than is usual in impressionist painting, though the feeling of light, air and atmosphere are very important to me. Painting is such a constant learning process. It's a challenge to stay conscious of that fine line between my natural proclivities, that which expresses the essence of who I am, and the bad habits I struggle to break in order to move forward in my work.

The other major breakthrough this month involves paint chemistry. I've gone back to simple linseed oil and turpentine, with a bit of dammar varnish added to the mix towards the end of the painting. I paint long hours, and it is very irritating to deal with sticky half-dry paint after 3-4 hours of work. I like to work wet on wet up to a certain point, and the alkyd based mediums dry much too quickly for me. Mostly I use no mediums at all, and follow the fat over lean rule, using turps to lay down thin layers of color in the beginning, and incorporating linseed oil and dammar into the thicker layers on top, if necessary. I also like Maroger medium and copal painting medium. At the Art Student's League, we used Taubes Copal Medium which is now unavailable, but I make my own, or something quite like it at least.

Cascade Brook

Forest Pool

2010-11-21T19:45:00.003-05:00

Nature's Light: The Art of Mary Graham

2010-05-22T08:46:00.004-04:00

The three page article about Mary Graham as it appeared in the Spring 2010 issue of Monadnock Living Magazine.

Emerging Art: Law Firm's Gallery Reopens with Recent NHIA Talent

2010-03-18T08:54:00.005-04:00

Out with the Old, in with the New

2010-01-24T10:12:00.003-05:00

After the December Open House (thank you to all who came!) , the studio has been undergoing some re-arranging as paintings are shipped out to make space for new endeavors. I've created a home (finally!) for encaustic painting, so I don't have to cart everything out of the closet anymore, and moved my ancient, (c.1911) oak drafting board into the studio so I will have a place to draw, something I am planning to do a lot more of this year. This is one of those huge, four-square, 36 x 60" tables that hinges at the front so it can be tilted up, with a tool drawer and a paper drawer. I bought it for $50 with money I earned painting, and it has been with me since high school, everyplace I've ever lived. David put it up on casters for me (everything in the studio must roll!) and now I feel truly at home.

To make room for all this, twelve Tuscany paintings have been moved to the Green Gallery at Salon 2000 in Milford, two encaustics are in the NHIA Alumni exhibit at the Beacon Building in Manchester, and four landscapes are at Art 3 Gallery in Manchester. I also placed a painting in the Member's show at Sharon Arts Center, and will shortly bring 3-4 new paintings to the juried gallery.

I love the look of bare white walls.....

Tuscany!

2009-11-09T20:34:00.010-05:00

Sorano, in Tuscany, is probably the most inspiring location I have ever had the opportunity to paint. The ancient hill town is built into a cliff of soft tufa rock, and the surrounding landscape is riddled with caves dating from Etruscan times. David, Gillian and I, with two friends, Tammy and Stan, spent two weeks there, and the weather was cool, clear, and perfect for plein air sketching. Thank you, Tom and Fabiana, for introducing us to this wonderful place, and giving us the use of your beautiful home.
I brought a small pochade box, and did seven 8" x 10" oil sketches, and one 10" x 10".

Plein Air in Maine

2009-11-09T18:16:00.007-05:00

In September I spent two weeks in the Camden-Rockport area of Maine, painting en plein air. Because time is short, and light is constantly changing, painting a detailed subject such as this barn and apple tree can be challenging outdoors. After several pencil sketches to work out composition and tree structure, I painted this first sketch on site on two consecutive mornings.

Back in the studio, I felt the composition seemed a bit cramped. I decided to enlarge the painting to give a feeling of more space around the barn, and since I had painted it on a piece of toned linen canvas taped to a board, this was not a problem. I re-positioned the corner post of the barn to place it into the background a bit more, and refined the branch work on the tree. It grew from 11" x 13" to 12" x 16".

A Week in the Whites

2009-09-02T13:05:00.004-04:00

The weather was changeable, moving from hot and muggy to cold and clear, which is why I love to go up to the mountains during the last week of August. I was able to paint outdoors three days and immerse myself in all that glorious light and color.

Above is a painting of Basin Pond, in Evans Notch, painted on location, 12" x 16".

End of Summer, 2009

2009-08-20T12:13:00.002-04:00

I've been experimenting quite a bit with encaustic lately - not much to show yet, but I'm learning a lot. I love the deep luminosity and intense color that encaustic wax makes possible, and I love the wax surface and texture. Photos don't communicate the tactile qualities of a wax encaustic surface, which are very different than oil.

I recently attended a meeting of New England Wax, a group of professional artists working in encaustic. We met at the ICA in Boston, and the whole day was very inspiring.

So, this month, three new oils, and three experimental encaustic / oil paintings:

2009-05-24T18:53:00.009-04:00

A few new paintings this month:(Click on any photo for a larger version)

Edge of Evening 20" x 24" oil on linen 2009
Pines, Late Afternoon Light 30" x 40" oil on linen, 2009

Quietude, End of Day

24" x 48" , in three panels

oil on linen 2009

Frame by Troy Stafford

OPEN STUDIOS - Riverview Mill, Wilton, NH

May 9th & 10th, 2009

New Work

2009-04-29T22:36:00.035-04:00

Early Moon 20" x 24"

June in Provence 20" x 24"

Fire and Ice 36" x 48"

A Marsh in Mordreuc A Field in Taden

12" x 12" 12" x 12"

I've been busy -

I finally got around to photographing the new paintings today - April 29.

Tomorrow I head up to Maine to pick up a gorgeous new frame, custom made for me by Troy Stafford for the triptych I finished in April. (You can view Troy's website of fine frames here: www.staffordframes.com)

I'll post that one when I can photograph it in it's new frame!

The two "Field" paintings are from my recent trip to France - Taden Field is a wheat field near Dinan, and Mordreuc Field is on the ocean, really a salt marsh, with a wonderful old mill ( may appear in a future painting.) I did several sketches and one oil on site, which I gave to the organization that had given me the residency.

"Fire and Ice" is of a pond in Dublin, NH, just as the ice was breaking up. The light reflected on the surface of the pond caught my eye.

"Early Moon" depicts a late afternoon in September, over a salt marsh, near the seacoast of NH.

"June in Provence" is of the expansive lavender fields I found there, when the lavender was just coming into bloom - you can smell it in the air everywhere.

Anticipating Warmer Days

2009-03-01T12:19:00.005-05:00

"The Herd, Contemplating Spring" 24" x 36"

In anticipation of the joyous season of mud, (which means longer, warmer days and the possibility of painting outdoors before the bugs get bad) I spent most of February in the studio, on this painting of cows in a muddy field. This painting grew out of my recent trip to Oregon, and a welcome respite from the cold and snow it was, too.

2009-02-06T21:53:00.000-05:00

Finally finished!

2009-02-06T21:15:00.003-05:00

After many distractions (Christmas, New Year's, illness, travel) this painting is finally completed. The rocks took many days of work, but were enjoyable to paint. For some reason, I love painting rocks - I think the Granite State is starting to get to me. After about a week's drying time, I glazed the rocks with my newly discovered special medium (thank you, Bill Martin!) and scumbled the sky and ocean, using Winsor & Newton's Transparent White.

During the drying times, I painted the river Rance, from a small sketch I did while in France last June (see painting above) . 18" x 24"

On My Easel

2009-01-02T20:12:00.008-05:00

Here's what's on my easel right now... It is 34" x 56", on Claessen's #66 linen. I started it on Dec. 23rd, laying in the sky and the imprimatura in the foreground. After Christmas, when things were dry, I drew the rocks in charcoal, then added the color, using a medium of 1 part stand oil, 1 part damar, and 5 parts turpentine. Giving it another 2 days to dry thoroughly, today I began to paint the ocean (not shown in photo.) The rocks will take a lot more work, but no painting tomorrow - we're heading to VT to visit David's parents. (Click on the photo for a larger image.)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:19:00.000-05:00

It's been a quiet New Year here, which suits me just fine after all the intensity of December. I've spent the day befriending my computer again, after months of neglect.

New Year's resolution: Stop hibernating. Paint like crazy, and post the results here.

Wish me luck!