MARY SCOTT

Mary paints intuitive abstracts, reflecting the stark ancient beauty of fragile environments. Much of her work has the Cornish coast, her adopted home, as its backdrop, but she is also inspired by long walks in other wild landscapes. The underlying rocks are a constant influence, recalling her early career as a geologist. Mary’s process in painting is an exploration of the passage of time: the stability of ancient rock beneath layers of impermanence and elemental change.

Recent work investigates extremes of dark and light palettes and hues in between, with layers and raw textures creating depth. She uses oil paints with pigments and rock powders, and other media, to embed a sense of age into her work; tools, rags, found objects and her hands create texture.

She says ‘As a series of work develops, I search for conversations between what is hidden and revealed, between loud and quiet, between energy and calm’.

Originally from Lancashire, with Irish roots, Mary was initially self-taught but her artistic development has since benefitted from year-long programmes at St Ives School of Painting and Newlyn School of Artists. Future plans include short residencies on the Scottish and Irish Atlantic coasts as well as in Brittany in northern France, revisiting the ancient rocks of her earlier geological studies to interpret them in paint. Mary welcomes visitors to her studio at Whites Old Workshops here in St Ives.

As well as showing her work in Mariners Gallery, it can be seen at Wychwood Gallery (Deddington, Oxfordshire) and Little Buckland Gallery (near Broadway, Worcestershire). Her work is held in private collections in the UK and as far afield as Japan and Alaska.