Artist Mary Qian demonstration

Liberty

Last month I introduced you to artist Stephanie Birdsall. Today I'm even more excited to introduce you to artist Mary Qian (pronounced like Chien).  From the moment I found out that Mary would be doing a demonstration at Saks Galleries I was giddy with excitement.  I love her work!  LOVE IT! LOVE IT!  

Mary paints florals and figurative.  I am a huge fan of her figurative work so I was hoping she'd be painting a person for her demonstration but I didn't let my hopes get up too high because I knew florals would be much easier to set up.

When we showed up Mary was already painting and it was a figurative!  I can't even begin to describe how my craziness and excitement went off the charts and I couldn't even sit down.  I'm sure Mr. H wanted to hide and not claim me as his wife that afternoon.  I know I must sound like a fan meeting a celebrity or something, but to me it was sort of like that since I loved her work so much.

As she painted she described using techniques of hard and soft edges to keep the viewers eyes on the canvass.  She talked about using a light easel so she can carry it around if she is painting on site.  

She even uses styrofoam plates instead of a traditional paint palette because they're so much lighter to hold for extended periods of time. 

I love this one of the model taking a picture of her portrait. Can you just imagine if Mona Lisa or The Girl with the Pearl Earring jumped up after their sittings to take a picture of the painting?  

My favorite work of hers is "An Innocent Gaze". I just love the girl's face, how serene it looks.  I also love the colors in the painting.

An Innocent Gaze

Here are some other ones I love.

Passing Times

Lily

Winter

After going home and obsessing thinking about it for a few days, we went back and purchased An Innocent Gaze!  Here it is in my dining room. I just love it so much and make it a point to sit down and truly appreciate it for a few minutes each day.

If you'd like more information on Mary, here is her website www.maryqian.com

Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you would like a chance to win the herb box made from a wine crate.  Just visit my previous post for details!