Biography
Born and raised in Europe where she was encouraged with private art lessons beginning at a young age, Mary Spain now embraces the historic tradition of plein air painting. She sets up her outdoor studio in front of any number of inspirational, local vistas to compose and paint her landscapes directly from nature. Absorbing the various plays of color in the reflections bouncing off and shadows soaking into landscape forms, she communicates, mainly in an impressionistic style with oil paints, the song of nature. The viewer can hear the wind, feel the sun, smell the vegetation, and sense the mood of a place while experiencing Mary’s artful renditions. She studied at the Vancouver School of Art in British Columbia, and at the San Francisco Art Institute where she took figurative painting in classes given by James Weeks and Julius Hatofsky. She lived in Malaysia for one year where she painted natural scenes and became interested in plein air painting. For the last ten years she has painted with and taken classes given by the noted plein air painter Pam Glover.

Mary’s paintings have been exhibited in several galleries and juried shows, and are part of many private collections. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their dog, Baldwin.

Gallery Representation
Valley Art Gallery, Walnut Creek
Paint Palette, Walnut Creek
AMFA Gallery, Orinda
Vista Gallery, Tahoe Vista, California

Selected Group and Solo Exhibits
Orinda Library
Benicia Public Library
Hercules Library
Benicia City Hall
Orinda Books
John Muir Hospital, Walnut Creek
Cal Fed Bank, Orinda
Moraga Art Gallery
Epperson Gallery Crockett
Moraga Chamber of Commerce
San Harbor Visitors Center, Lake Tahoe
Family Law Center, Martinez
Cal Savings Bank, Moraga
Shadelands Art Center, Walnut Creek