Mary Planding
Colorist
Pastel / Oil
website: plandingfineart.com
Mary began her “auspicious” painting career at the age of 3… helping her fine artist dad and teacher gesso his canvases — “As you can imagine, I got more gesso on me than on his canvases….” smiles Mary. She studied in NYC at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art taking weekend drawing, illustration, and painting classes throughout her early years.
She lived and studied overseas in France and Austria while in college majoring in language and communications. “I fell passionately in love with the French language after a trip to Paris when I was 14. I was fascinated by how people communicated differently. I was awed by all the cultures I encountered as I traveled across France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. I was so caught up in absorbing all of it, that art became a dim memory.”
Returning to the US, Mary entered the business world, eventually moving to California and working for Apple Computer in marketing and branding. She continued a successful career in high tech for 35 years, getting married along the way and inheriting a family. But her fast-paced career burned her out, and during her recovery time, she rediscovered her love of creating art. “I had always loved pastels, but they were so primitive when I was young, so I worked mainly in watercolor. What a surprise and delight it was to find the variety of pastel brands and surfaces back in the early ’00s. I fell in love again and began studying with well-known pastellists.”
Influenced by Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, Cassat, Morisot, John Singer Sargent, the California Colorist Society, she invested in learning from modern painters Johannes Vloothuis, Teresa Saia, Richard McKinley, Kim Lordier, Robert Carlsen, Marla Baggetta, Gail Sibley, Alain Picard, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Jeanne Rosier Smith, and Dreama Tolle Perry.
Mary continues to evolve her style and hone her skills, “There’s always something new to learn, try, explore, experiment, and share. New techniques, new materials, new ways of perceiving what I see, trying new ways to project on canvas what I feel so others feel it too.”
Having lived by the Monterey Bay for more than 30 years, she recently moved to North Carolina. “It was time to return to the East Coast and have fun exploring all the wonders that are here.”
Mary’s seascapes show her sense of wonder at the beauty of the ocean and its sea life. Her landscapes are rampant with mountains, streams, and the flora of the different seasons. Her foreign landscapes are whimsical portrayals of doorways, cafés, gardens, and of course — dramatic ocean views and mountain vistas.
As a colorist and impressionist-style painter, she focuses on helping the viewer experience what is happening in that painting with all the viewer’s senses. She does this by creating compositions with an alluring eye path using complimentary colors, patterns, and distinctive shapes. She also plays hide and seek with lines and alternating marks that are bold and shy — all offset by quiet neutrals that fill in the gaps and don’t distract from what she wants you to feel.
As you wander through her paintings, you’ll find delightful surprises that Mary calls “eye candy” so you discover multiple points in a canvas that make you laugh or smile, shed a tear in joy, or feel a touch of bittersweet. Most of her collectors say her paintings help them return to a special memory that they experience again and again.
Mary has served on the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz’s board of directors for two years, was a member of the Santa Cruz Art League and the Pastel Society of the West Coast. Today, she serves on the Artisans/SUFA Steering Committee and is a member of the Pastel Society of North Carolina, and the Coastal Carolina Pastel Painters. She enjoys serving and helping these communities of wonderful artists.
Colorist
Pastel / Oil
website: plandingfineart.com
Mary began her “auspicious” painting career at the age of 3… helping her fine artist dad and teacher gesso his canvases — “As you can imagine, I got more gesso on me than on his canvases….” smiles Mary. She studied in NYC at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art taking weekend drawing, illustration, and painting classes throughout her early years.
She lived and studied overseas in France and Austria while in college majoring in language and communications. “I fell passionately in love with the French language after a trip to Paris when I was 14. I was fascinated by how people communicated differently. I was awed by all the cultures I encountered as I traveled across France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. I was so caught up in absorbing all of it, that art became a dim memory.”
Returning to the US, Mary entered the business world, eventually moving to California and working for Apple Computer in marketing and branding. She continued a successful career in high tech for 35 years, getting married along the way and inheriting a family. But her fast-paced career burned her out, and during her recovery time, she rediscovered her love of creating art. “I had always loved pastels, but they were so primitive when I was young, so I worked mainly in watercolor. What a surprise and delight it was to find the variety of pastel brands and surfaces back in the early ’00s. I fell in love again and began studying with well-known pastellists.”
Influenced by Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, Cassat, Morisot, John Singer Sargent, the California Colorist Society, she invested in learning from modern painters Johannes Vloothuis, Teresa Saia, Richard McKinley, Kim Lordier, Robert Carlsen, Marla Baggetta, Gail Sibley, Alain Picard, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Jeanne Rosier Smith, and Dreama Tolle Perry.
Mary continues to evolve her style and hone her skills, “There’s always something new to learn, try, explore, experiment, and share. New techniques, new materials, new ways of perceiving what I see, trying new ways to project on canvas what I feel so others feel it too.”
Having lived by the Monterey Bay for more than 30 years, she recently moved to North Carolina. “It was time to return to the East Coast and have fun exploring all the wonders that are here.”
Mary’s seascapes show her sense of wonder at the beauty of the ocean and its sea life. Her landscapes are rampant with mountains, streams, and the flora of the different seasons. Her foreign landscapes are whimsical portrayals of doorways, cafés, gardens, and of course — dramatic ocean views and mountain vistas.
As a colorist and impressionist-style painter, she focuses on helping the viewer experience what is happening in that painting with all the viewer’s senses. She does this by creating compositions with an alluring eye path using complimentary colors, patterns, and distinctive shapes. She also plays hide and seek with lines and alternating marks that are bold and shy — all offset by quiet neutrals that fill in the gaps and don’t distract from what she wants you to feel.
As you wander through her paintings, you’ll find delightful surprises that Mary calls “eye candy” so you discover multiple points in a canvas that make you laugh or smile, shed a tear in joy, or feel a touch of bittersweet. Most of her collectors say her paintings help them return to a special memory that they experience again and again.
Mary has served on the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz’s board of directors for two years, was a member of the Santa Cruz Art League and the Pastel Society of the West Coast. Today, she serves on the Artisans/SUFA Steering Committee and is a member of the Pastel Society of North Carolina, and the Coastal Carolina Pastel Painters. She enjoys serving and helping these communities of wonderful artists.