Featured Artist | Mary Davies Kerns

Today I had the supreme pleasure of meeting artist Mary Davies Kerns! She has three pieces hanging in an art exhibit called "The Wild is Calling". Its currently running at the National Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, OR. (I have two pieces in that show as well.)

Mary grew up in Haines, OR and her work centers on the desert and ranch landscapes which make up that part of the country.  Her work is both pastoral and abstract, comfortable and unsettling. Seeing her pieces in person today knocked my socks off. Maybe it's her dynamic use of underpainting, her choice of pure saturated colors and dark shadowy contrast, or the confidence of her brush strokes - or are they palette knife? Whatever "it" is, I couldn't help but feel lifted and happy in the presence of her work.

If you don't already, you must follow her on Instagram - of course for her paintings but also for her lovely photos of eastern Oregon and western Idaho. She has a large body of work, but here are some of my favorite pieces:

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