Check out Mary Hughes’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Hughes.

Mary, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
As a child, I always loved to draw and paint. My painting career began when I was 10. While in Maine with my grandparents, my grandmother, a professional seamstress and an amateur painter, gave me a postcard of the Atlantic coast with a wave crashing on rocks. I meticulously copied the image in oil and so my love of painting began.

The best part of my teenage years were my high school art classes and the summer art programs at local museums. My high school art teacher was very encouraging and that eventually led me to the fine arts program at Boston University. I originally thought I would be an illustrator, which seemed more practical but that didn’t take so I got a BFA in painting instead.

After school, I had a variety of jobs, that allowed me the time and energy to paint. Having a dedicated studio space was important to me. My first one was in the attic of my grandfather’s house, the same space my grandmother used to work in. I always made efforts to exhibit, whether in a local library or a juried showed. After a few years working on my own, I entered the MFA program at Mass Art, where I was able to focus and push my work to a new level.

After grad school, I received a Fulbright Scholarship, which allowed me to spend almost a year in Ireland. During this time, my painting became much more abstract. This was a big leap for me, having been trained in an academic tradition. I have continued to work abstractly ever since.

I have been lucky to have had a few residencies over the years which allow for a full immersion into working. Balancing the making of art while earning a living is a challenge for many artists I know and I can’t say I have the answer. I always endeavor to create deadlines that require me to remain productive. I always think about the slogan “Just Do it” as a mantra for just about everything, really. In order to be a practicing artist, some days you have to just do it.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Despite being abstract, my work is very much influenced by nature and the landscape. This began back when I did direct plein-air painting on site. The concept of landscape space and light remained important elements of my painting as it went from observed to imagined. I spent a lot of time working in a space that was in between representation and abstraction.

My recent work is a continuation of themes that I have been engaged in over the last decade. My work has simultaneously been an exploration of organic forms inspired by nature and landscape, as well as an investigation of formal issues such as line, color, shape, and composition. In these paintings, I attempt to capture a mood, an ephemeral moment, an imagined place, a weather event, or the passing of time.

My process is something like visual spelunking. I enter into the piece in darkness and try to work my way out with line and color. Often a piece has 3 or 4 stages during which it changes radically. I build up shapes and lines, using stencils and free-hand drawing that sometimes get painted out, or pushed back so that they are merely peeking through the surface, to be reworked or rearticulated again later. Botanical forms, topographical lines, maps, calligraphy, underwater scenes, and geometric forms inspire the imagery.

How can artists connect with other artists?
Living in an artist building makes it easier for me to connect with other artists on a regular basis. I think being part of (or starting!) a group is a great way to build a network. When I was younger, my friends and I had a weekly figure drawing group. It was great to keep us all working and we got to socialize over pizza and beer. Over the years, I have been part of various art groups (kind of like book groups but for artists). I think taking the occasional workshop is another way to connect with people. Go to openings and open studios. Even sharing a studio space with someone can help.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I try to exhibit regularly and have had two solo shows this past year, one at Copley Society of Art and the other at Gallery 360 at Northeastern. I am a currently Copley Society member and often have work in their Small Works Members Exhibitions in the Lower Gallery. I have a studio at Fenway Studios in Boston and will be participating in Annual Open Studios this coming November 2018. My website is www.mchughes.net. I have an Instagram account @marseedoe where I post images of works in progress (and of my dogs!)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mchughes.net
• Email: mary@mchughes.net
• Instagram: marseedoe
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryHughesFineArt/

Image Credit:
Eden Reiner

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