ABOUT THE MARY PANTINGS

In high school in the late 60's it was cool to be an artist. I found it extremely convenient to belong to a group that was a non-group by it's own definition. After high school I took illustration and design in Jr College and knew by the second week of classes that I would never be able to put up with an art director. I was too immature and stubborn to work as an illustrator, and I didn't have anything to say as an artist, so I went to beauty college through night school and cut hair for a few years. I never fell out of love with art , I continued to take classes in night school and went to Italy in the early 80's to see as much art as I could in the three weeks vacation I had. To paint because I could, had never been a good enough reason for me. If you had asked what it would take for me to drop everything after twenty years and start over as a working artist, I would have said, It would take a miracle. In the spring of 1994 it was reported in our local paper that an apparition of the Virgin Mary was appearing on the wall of the Catholic Church in Colfax, CA, just 15 miles from where I live. A friend called me up and talked me into going with her to see it. When we got there the Bishop was just coming out of the church, channel 10 news was interviewing him and we listened in to the conversation. When asked what he thought about what he saw in the church, he said that he thought it was a shadow on the wall that resembled a woman holding a child. Well OK then, if the Bishop says it's a shadow , then it's a shadow. I still wanted to see it, so we waited in line and eventually got in. What I saw was a shadow on the wall, that resembled a woman holding a child. What the Bishop didn't mention, was what one might feel when they got in there. Not being Catholic, I had no idea what to expect on entering the church. The smell of incense and candles were first to hit the senses, then it took a few minutes to adjust to the darkness. I could feel the energy in the church, it was amazing. People were in what can only be described as a state of ecstasy. The whole church was reciting the Hail Mary. My friend Mary (purely a coincidence) and I went up to the balcony and we could see the shadow on the wall clearly. We stayed for a little while, then left. I walked out not a believer, but with an open mind to the possibility. The true scope of what I had seen didn ’t register with me immediately. It took days of having that image cross my mind, on a regular basis for me to “get” what it was I had experienced. I started to think about how powerful the image I saw really was. The emotions it created transcended religion, and in that moment I knew that I would start painting again. What I did not possess twenty years earlier was inspiration. The source of the inspiration was not the image, in my opinion it was just a shadow on the wall that resembled a woman holding a child. what inspired me was the idea that an image that is a symbol of unconditional love could impart those same emotions upon the observer. My work is about my humor, my spirituality, my odd view of life and sometimes purely about color. More often than not , my art is about all of these things. As a partly self-taught artist, I have studied the masters through reading and visiting museums, and copying. I began to paint pet portraits as a way to make a living as an artist . It soon became apparent that my clients weren't interested in "painted photographs" of their animal companions, but desired portraits that captured the personality and humor of their pets. I also painted people portraits and I continue to explore the limits of my chosen medium, acrylics. I am also exploring the limits of my ability as an artist, never content to stay in a comfortable and safe place.