MARY KELLEY
Born in 1938 and raised in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, and having lived in Missoula most of my adult life, I am now a permanent resident of the Polson area. My home is in the country, at the end of a road, with a tiny view of Flathead Lake. My companions are 2 dogs, 1 cat, a flock of chickens, my flower and vegetable garden, and a multitude of wildlife. When young, I was always going to paint with vigor someday soon, when “this” was done and “that” was finished. Suddenly I was 60 and knew I better get with the program.
Born in 1938 and raised in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, and having lived in Missoula most of my adult life, I am now a permanent resident of the Polson area. My home is in the country, at the end of a road, with a tiny view of Flathead Lake. My companions are 2 dogs, 1 cat, a flock of chickens, my flower and vegetable garden, and a multitude of wildlife. When young, I was always going to paint with vigor someday soon, when “this” was done and “that” was finished. Suddenly I was 60 and knew I better get with the program.
I am mainly self-taught, but have taken several art courses at the University of Montana and adult education throughout the years. My first experience with painting was a workshop I attended, at the urging of my father, with Robert Atwood , when I was in my early 20’s. From that workshop came the idea that I would paint, someday. Drawing courses with Susan Barnes and MaryAnn Bonjorni and workshops with Robert Moore, Jim Lamb, Camille Przewodek, Phil Starke, Bob Rohm, and Bob Phinney have come since I have been painting seriously.
Mother Nature has always inspired me to paint. The subtle and striking contrasts between light and dark, warm and cool colors, the patterns and shapes of light and shadow are intriguing. I try to capture these things on canvas. If they can be frozen for later remembrance of the time and place, this would be success for me. This is why plein aire painting thrills me so, surrounded by the beauty, absorbing with all the senses the wind, the rain, the hot sun, the cool breeze, the bite of a frosty spring day. What better way is there to spend my senior years?