Mary Beck - Title: Avalanche / Size: 30" X 40" / Medium: Oil on Canvas

Website:	www.marybeck.artspan.com
Biography:	Western Montana roots support and nurture Mary Beck's painting. Now living a few miles from the pacific her work gradually blended influences of the Rockies and Coast, evolving from landscapes to seascapes to her current series of water patterns. She has always painted, beginning with a studio in the corner of her parents Mountain Motel Office where she worked in pastel and occasionally sold one of her creations. Her fascination with water parallels a lifelong love of canoeing. She began paddling in Montana's Swan Lake, then channels of the Mississippi, then the wide muddy Missouri, the Colorado river's Black Canyon and it's mazelike reed channels as it trickles into Mexico. On one trip through the Black canyon unusually strong rapids tipped her canoe leaving camping gear and a camera at the bottom of the river. She retains a mental image of swirling water and boulders that occasionally surfaces in paint. All of those water level experiences create an understanding of the complexities of transparency, reflection and movement, as well as a healthy respect for the power of water. Beach camping and countless walks along the edge of the Pacific create another facet of Mary's inspiration for her images. She returns to her studio with hundreds of photos and spends hours choosing a wave from one and a color from another to reassemble in a composite that becomes one of her paintings. Mary's studies of painting technique began at the University of Montana in the 60's where she worked with classic and contemporary painters. Her style gradually developed into the classically informed photoreal/surreal style that is uniquely hers. She begins each canvas with a sketch, first in pastel, then set with turpentine to make a watercolor-like image. This is followed with a base coat which, after it dries, is enhanced and balanced with layers of glaze. Her favorite painters are a mix of abstract and realist as is her own style. She reveres Robert Motherwell,, Andrew Wyeth, Monet and Manet and has a special place in her heart reserved for Georgia O'Keefe. Mary's paintings hang in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the United States.
Artist Statement:	Painting is, for me, a vehicle for creating a moment of silence for the viewer. My current series is of "shore-less" water patterns. To convey these images I use classical arrangements of form punctuated by color and textural contradictions. I also simply love to paint. Painting rocks began by collecting a few from the desert, placing them next to my easel and painting and repainting until I could see the weight and feel the texture. Painting water grew from a personal fascination with the challenge of painting arrangements of plastic bags - the basic elements are the same. When I paint water I work until I can see the water flowing.
Art Education:	B. A. Fine Arts, Washington State University, 1968 Teaching Credentials, Multiple Subject and Resource Specialist, CSUSM, 1998
Awards and Achievements:	Publications: Southwest Art Magazine, April, 2008. Illustration of "Godwit's Feasting" as part of a book review. Land of Sunshine: Contemporary Painters of San Diego County, James Lightner, 2007, pp 19,202