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About The Artist
Mary cannot remember a time when she did not draw. Mostly horses, on any scrap of paper she could find. When her family began trading horses, her two passions came together. She was ten years old.
Mary grew up in a rough environment. Life back then didn’t offer many options. She rode whatever rank stock came on the place. She got bit, kicked, bucked off and had a few impressive wrecks but her passion for horses never wavered. Living a rather isolated life at the end of a dirt road, Mary found solace and companionship among the horses. They filled a void nothing else could, and that still holds true to this day.
Mary’s passion for the great outdoors surfaced early. The solitude of wild places drew Mary like a magnet and she eased out the back door every chance she got and rode across her folks hardscrabble farm, down an old, overgrown right-of-way and into the adjoining timber. Each time Mary saddled up, she transformed herself into a cowboy, riding her trusty steed looking for bad guys or as an Indian scout riding bareback following sign.
Mary left home at seventeen and worked her way through college, graduating in three and a half years with a Bachelor of Science in Fine Art. She taught school in a rural Midwestern town for a short time, only to discover she was a doer, not a teacher. Drawing and painting in the evenings, Mary made ends meet with a succession of fabulously mundane jobs eventually finding her way into graphic design. After working in the trade for four years, Mary started a small corporation in that same vane on a wing and a prayer. The business was a success but the call of the West and the burning desire to be in the company of horses weighed heavy on her mind.
As she wrestled with how to arrange her life so she could make her dreams come true, fate stepped in and Mary met an exceptionally good man willing to walk away from all things familiar, and head West with her. During their first trip to Montana in 1982, she knew it was where she belonged, and thank God, Mark was hooked too. Within thirty days, they moved to the Blackfoot Valley lock, stock and barrel. They started a small business in the equine industry and began carving out their niche. By the first spring, they had purchased two and a half horses; a two year old quarter horse gelding and a pregnant quarter horse mare. Life was uncertain, but Mary was finally back in the company of horses and she was determined to stay. Most days, she rode in the early morning and again in the evening. She also traded her photography and graphic design skills with outfitters for trips into the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Sun River Game Range.
In 1986 Mark and Mary were able to purchase a beautiful hunk of bare land near Trout Creek, Montana. They built a shop for their business with small living quarters, where they lived for fifteen years. They built a barn with lumber they milled off their place in 1984 and by 2002 they were able to build a cabin with lots of northern light for Mary's studio area. They live on their small ranch with five horses, two dogs and four cats.
Mary paints what she knows and her artwork shows it. We hope you enjoy Mary’s Blue Roan Fine Art website. Come back soon!
HAPPY TRAILS and GOD BLESS
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