About the Artist
MARY LOUISE PORTER
“The beginning of a painting is always mysterious to me. A painting develops for me, unraveling the composition, as the colors, line, shapes, and texture seems to emerge on the canvas.”
Mary Louise Porter has been selected to represent the Cane River and Northwest Louisiana in John R. Kemp’s book Expression of Place The Contemporary Louisiana Landscape. Her paintings were also featured in the November 2014 Louisiana Life magazine. Porter received a BFA and MFA in Painting from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. She has participated in numerous artist residencies across the US and Costa Rica. Her work is also included in a number of galleries and other public and private collections nationwide.
M L Porter Fine Art Studio
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Artist Statement
My journey as a landscape artist is rooted in the rich soil of Louisiana, with wanderings in the woodlands and hills of Arkansas, and most recently, moored to the warm healing salt waters of the beaches and marshes of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
As a contemporary landscape painter I experiments with colors, lines, and shapes abstracting from reality to create my own contemporary landscape style. Inspiration is drawn from common areas such as patterns of the clouds, vibrant colors of the sky, reflections on water. barren trees, textures, and vivid color patterns. I work with acrylic, and other mediums to engage the viewer emotionally as well as visually in my paintings and drawings. My canvases are sometimes layered with mixed media and cut canvas to create texture and pattern throughout the landscape.
Creativity and inspiration is the basis of my paintings. It is my aim to capture a moment in time revealing the emotion and beauty of the location expressed in my unique, interpretive style. My work represents a journey of memories and images drawn from landscapes seen in my travels as well as experienced in the American South. Some people are born to sing, play an instrument, or write. I was born to be a painter. I have always known what I wanted to do in life- create.
Alexandria Museum Of Art - Alexandria, Louisiana, 2021
Mary Louise Porter painting "Storm Fields" donation to the Alexandria Museum of Art permanent collection, 2021. Click the link below to see the unboxing of the painting at the museum.