Mary G Arnold — Women Artists of the West

“As a land and wildlife advocate and an Idaho Master Naturalist, I embrace all that I find precious in nature and endeavor to explore and learn more every day.” MG Arnold

Mary Arnold

I am a conservation artist living and working where high desert meets the mountains. I am fascinated with wildlife and geology, and in advocating for the land and animals of the west. My goal is to explore humanity's connection to nature and carry a message of balanced land and animal conservation through my art. As a land and wildlife advocate and an Idaho Master Naturalist, I embrace all that I find precious in nature and endeavor to explore and learn more every day. The projects that I engage with explore the nexus of ecology and human values and seek to understand the emotion, beliefs and philosophies that prompt us to protect our environment and wildlife and preserve our biodiversity in nature.

My notion of capturing the soul of a subject and connecting it to the viewer lies in my fiercely independent upbringing on my parents' farm. The connection between the stewardship of land and animals and the success of humans was a very real daily lesson. My childhood was full of experiences exploring Idaho’s fields and hills, riding my horse to a steep-walled canyon or rocky butte, working on the farm, competing in rodeos, and spending summers in the Sawtooths. I named and tamed every farm cat, built forts in the rock piles to watch the marmots, and I played hide-and-go-seek with my dogs in the cornfields. Animals were my companions and the fields, rocks and mountains of Idaho were my playground.

As I grew up I carried with me the lessons of youth and my concerns for preservation of holistic ecosystems. I attended undergraduate school in Austin, Texas, and graduate school in Arizona, and my love of the west spread beyond Idaho. Today, I direct my art practice in support of conservation topics, collaborating with land trusts, state and national parks, non-profit organizations, and wildlife rehabilitation efforts. I seek to explore the crossroads of our western plains and sagebrush ecosystems, the balanced use of the land, and the impact on wildlife and species survival.

My art style is firmly seated in the Fauve tradition, with a western twist. Fauvism seeks to separate color from its descriptive, representational purpose and allow it to exist on the canvas as an independent element without having to be true to the natural world. By using color to project a mood, portray emotion, and to establish a structure within the art piece, I create images that are not replications of nature, but which express nature. I hope to represent the western childhood I grew up in and the western future I wish to preserve. Painting wildlife in their normal daily lives, motherhood, hunting, survival, and other sentient or even anthropomorphized behavior, portrays the role and importance that every animal serves in a balanced ecosystem.

My husband and I are blessed to live in the west. I enjoy spending time on adventures out in our public lands, exploring and learning from wildlife, and hiking in the hills with my 12 year old sweet black lab Augie and newly adopted 10 year old rescue dog, Babe. In addition to my own art practice, I volunteer for conservation organizations, work as an instructor for art business skills to artists aspiring to build sustainable businesses, and I teach nature journaling workshops. I am a proud associate member of Women Artists of the West and Artists for Conservation.

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