The Artists

Mary Roscoe Murphy Robertson

Born in Winnipeg, Mary has lived throughout Canada and presently resides in Prince Edward Island in the summer and in Québec City in the winter. She is a graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario and McGill University in Montréal, Quebec.

Mary started painting as a teenager while living near Morin Heights, Quebec, but did not seriously pursue painting until she worked under the direction of Thomas Tynan.

She has exhibited primarily in the Québec City area, Montréal, and Prince Edward Island with solo exhibitions at the Bibliothèque Charles-H.-Blais de Sillery, Québec, Centre d’art la Chapelle de Vanier, Québec, at Galerie 1040 and Galerie Luz in Montréal, and at the Showcase at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown. In January 2011, Mary participated in a collective exhibition at La Clarté Dieu in Québec.

Mary’s paintings and cards have been shown at numerous locations in PEI including Dalvay-by-the-Sea Country Inn, the Confederation Centre, The Dunes Studio Gallery, Beanz Café, and Lot 30. Mary's paintings are in the permanent collections of the McConnell Foundation in Montréal, the fondation du centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec, Veterans Affairs Canada in Charlottetown, Dalvay-by-the-Sea Country Inn, the President of the University of Prince Edward Island and the Director of the Prince Edward Island Conservatory. Other works are in homes and offices throughout Canada, the United States and Europe.

She is the former co-coordinator of the Selection Committee and a past President of l'Association des créateurs et artisans de Sillery, Québec. Mary taught painting at the St. Lawrence Campus of Champlain Regional College in Ste-Foy, Québec, the P.E.I. School of the Arts, and in 2009 gave a painting workshop for the culture component of the Canada Summer Games held on Prince Edward Island. She also gives private acrylic courses and workshops.

The goal of her work is to explore and give voice to the contrasting and complementary textures, colours, compositions and rhythms of her environment. Mary's interpretations transcend the ordinary with her frequent use of various media and metallic pigments. On the picture plane, she transposes organic elements so that they intermingle and flow into the realm of intricate movement enhanced by unique textures, unexpected hues and compelling luminosity. Since 2002, Mary has researched the use of acrylic sheet as a surface for her work and continues to experiment with this medium.

You may visit Mary's work at www.maryrobertson.ca and also at www.acasquebec.com.