Mary Farnum Burnley

Biography

Mary earned a B.A. from Murray State University and an M.A. from the University of Louisville. She has studied independently with Arturo Sandoval, University of Kentucky; Kathy Kelm, Nantucket School of Art and Design; Alma Lesch, University of Louisville; and at the Instituto de Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She has exhibited in numerous, solo, two-person and group exhibitions. Having taught Art in Jefferson Country at the high school level and adult classes through Louisville Visual Arts. She left teaching to travel in much of the U.S. selling her work to individuals and corporations. She received numerous awards and is included in collections of universities, hospitals, corporations including the United States government, the Ford motor company and Merrill Lynch.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I make art because I have always made art.
I see a thing and the shape or the shadows of the juxtaposition to another thing makes me put it down in paint. I see a bit of rusty schmutz and I turn it into a collage. In waiting rooms I draw my surroundings in my mind. I get distracted by the light reflecting on a scratched surface. Two colors bleeding together intrigue me.

Everything is art or ready to be made into art.

Floating     Dreaming    Dancing

Mary Farnum Burnley is an award winning artist who has spent nearly 2 years exploring paint as the subject of her work rather than using an imposed subject matter. Some of the methods she used were alternating layer of  thin washes with layer of thick paint and building layer of different colors never fully obscuring the original. These methods invited spontaneity and the freedom to work without concern for missteps resulting in the desired loose painterly surfaces. 

This exploration has culminated in three series of painting. 

The first series, Floating, was the result of a “near sleep” experience with floating shapes that changed colors as they intersected. The medium was oil on canvas.

The second series, Dreaming, evolved spontaneously from the earlier work. By reducing the amount of color and isolating it with stark white, and black outlines the color became the subject matter. The medium was acrylic on canvas.

The third series, Dancing, was the result of a conscious choice to eliminate nearly all color and use the black as a gesture drawing. It became a dance between clean black lines and the textural white background with a cameo performance by color. The medium was also acrylic on canvas.

Below is more of Burnley’s work.