Artist Statement

Sometimes I chose to paint the soul, the magic of the subject, such as Sedona Arizona Dry Beaver Creek Sycamore, an old dying sycamore tree in a dry creek bed. In this case, once a beautiful tree is now in its last phase of life, the challenge was to capture a strong spirit with a will to live. I’m a portrait artist of people, structures, animals, and nature.

The question often asked is, “How do you select your subjects to draw or paint?” This statement is not an easy answer because there is no selection formula. The process is intuitive. It starts with a subject that catches my attention.

A major concern, does the selected subject contain a challenge, an area or texture I’ve never painted before. Is there an experience in this adventure which will contribute to my personal artistic growth? With these boxes checked, the subject is saved in the “to paint” file for later consideration.

When a painting is finished both the painting and I move into a mode of satisfaction. Being a zone painter, I’m not always aware how the painting is created or evolves. My bond with the painting is now broken; the creation is free to flow into the River of Life.

Biography

Starting with her first adult drawing in the 2^nd grade, a rabbit drawn on her chalkboard, by the 9^th grade, Mary Dove was a portrait artist in drawing, oil paintings, and flowers in pastels. At this time, learning perspective was added to her art experience which influenced the decision to become a college architecture major. In this 9^th-grade art class, they went outside, sat on the curb, and selected a home across the street to draw in 2 point perspective.

With her college architectural experience, it was easy to fearless become engaged with all forms of architectural structures. As a high school art teacher, one aspect taught the students was to pay attention to the values (lights and darks) occupied within the first 4 boundary lines on their painting. Sunlit, for Mary Dove, is an important aspect of a painting. Sunlit provides the opportunity to contrast bright light against strong shadows. She feels, her paintings are at their best when expressing a kiss of sunlight in the artwork.

Visual arts are a significant part of Mary Dove’s life. Her greatest delight is to capture long remembered shared experiences. She loves telling a story through her creations which strike an emotional chord with the viewer. Her artwork is at its best when expressing a passion for the chosen subject. The artwork is a personal adventure that begins with the intellectual challenge of visual design resulting in the problem-solving aspects of each new project.

Growing up in Houston, Texas her dad made certain she was exposed early and often to a wide variety of life experiences, included all manner of wildlife, birds, nature, sports and even food. Such invaluable encounters have enabled her to breathe life and soul into each chosen subject to paint or draw. Diversification thus become, and remains today, the hallmark of her work. Mary Dove’s paintings range from landscapes and architectural structures too big game animals, pet portraits, and still life.

A resident of Sedona, Arizona, Mary Dove earned both a Bachelor and a Master of Education Degree from Texas Tech University. Her college education began as an architect major, she moved through commercial art, technical illustration to discover her artistic “voice”’ as an illustrator; graduated with a major in art education and fine art. She depicts in the artwork an understanding of structure, a keen eye for detail, and the comprehensive skill of execution. Virtually every media is on her pallet from pencil and charcoal to watercolors, oil pastels, acrylic and oil paintings, jewelry, sculpture, and ceramics. Each selected subject requires its own best medium presentation used to invoke a quality of super realism with a sprinkle of expressionism. Numerous awards and honors have been granted to Mary Dove.