Enduring Beauty

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Artist Statement

The world is ours to behold, to interpret, to synthesize into our own vision, our voice, our expression. I choose to leave struggle, angst, protest, cultural commentary, even self-introspection to someone else. Rather, my work is unapologetically a visceral response to the beauty of nature, dreams that float in and out of consciousness, graceful forms that surround us, moments in time that capture our imagination. My term ‘Enduring Beauty’ comes from the title of my 2025 solo exhibition at the prominent 20 North Gallery, Toledo, OH.I’ve been an artist my entire life, working for decades in sculptural forms in clay; my recent work in oils shares the same signature fluidity of line and surface that flows with grace in its surroundings. There is the search for the delicately-wrought line, sensuous form, fluid movement.My work is an unapologetic exploration for beauty and grace with the desire to create an emotive response, a sense of calm, appreciation, perhaps wonder in the viewer. As Keats stated, beauty is truth, and truth is beauty... that is all you need to know.- Mary Dawson

My Painting Process

Each painting begins in a botanical garden, along a roadside, in my backyard, a friend’s garden, even a floral shop, where I photograph flowers that speak to me through their beauty of form, movement, and color. I crop in tight on the photographic image to draw the viewer in and invite them to see the work in as intimate experience.Referencing the original photograph, each painting is meticulously rendered with layers of oil – with my two cats keeping me company in the studio every day, passively napping but providing their own form of encouragement until completion. Each work typically represents more than 100 hours of studio time, some more than 150 hours, so the experience itself it deeply personal to the artist, and hopefully the viewer.Inspired by O’Keeffe, Botticelli, Mapplethorpe, Weston, and Hockney, all of whom expressed the beauty of the natural world, the artist feels the words of the iconic David Hockney sum up the rationale for her work. Overhearing an art expert deriding artists who paint tulips, Hockney commented: “Actually, it’s very hard to paint a tulip. Have you tried?”