From an Exta Bedroom to a Studio . Painter Mary Russell

In my Studio… Mary Russell

Coral Glow by Mary Russell

“My first studio space was in an extra bedroom when my daughter was eleven.  I would get her off to school, walk over piles of laundry, and get right to my easel. I loved it!

In time, I had an opportunity to have a studio away from the house which I shared with another artist. It was a huge space in an old shopping center. Leaving the house and going to my job was a joy. I have had several studio spaces since that first one.  They have all been quite large and perfect for sharing, which was the icing on the cake for me. The creative group energy swirling around all our easels made us reach higher and push our abilities.  My studios have also been places for me to teach growing groups of students monthly classes or workshops —more creative energy!

All of that changed with Covid.  I am currently in a small space on my own for the first  time in many years.  It was not an easy adjustment at first, but I’m really good with it now. I feel excited in the mornings, because I still get to walk out the door every day and go do something that I love!”

— Mary Russell

Amy in Blue by Mary Russell

Mary Russell lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she paints representational art that encompasses multiple genres including figure work, landscape, and still life. She is the recipient of awards from the prestigious Salon International, Women Artists of the West, the Pastel Society of America, and Oil Painters of America, and she has been featured in multiple magazines including American Artist, Southwest Art, and American Art Collector. Mary began her formal study of art when she received an art scholarship from ORU where she attended until family life intervened. When she took up the brush again ten years later, she traveled nationwide to study with the master artists whose work she most admired, and she secured gallery representation within a couple of years. Though she began her career as a figurative artist, she soon expanded to include her unique exploration of the still life and its fascinating spatial relationships that she finds so exciting and enduringly modern. Mary Russell is a Women Artist of the West.

#painting #figurative #stillLife #landscape #oklahomaartist #attitude #emotion #MaryRussell