Mary Pratt – bold, flamboyant, using photographic projections to paint her masterful still life’s.

Her art focussed on everyday household items – apples, jars of jelly, paper bags, aluminum foil.

Her colours jump off the canvass – dramatic – not your usual, usual, colours.

In the magazine, Canadian Art, Mary said:

“Titanium White, Cadmium Pale Yellow or Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Orange, Permanent Rose, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, and Permanent Deep Green. I sometimes use Mauve, but only lately. I never use black except in watercolour; it takes the dance out of the painting, the dance that colour gives you. Instead, I mix up three dark colours.”

The impact powerful, dramatic, memorable.

Pratt’s artistic journey began early – at age nine.

Her parents gave her jars of poster paints in an effort to provide their daughter – angst-ridden over her appearance and weight – with a purpose in life and make her happy.

It worked.

Mary described the jars of poster paints as wonderful. And they proved to be the start of Mary developing her artistic abilities – expressing herself through drawing and painting.

Eventually she enhanced and refined her artistic abilities by studying fine arts at Mount Alison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

Many of her teachers, artists themselves, later had stellar careers in the art world.

Her paintings provoking questions.

Her art a reflection of her domestic life in rural Newfoundland, Canada.

Art that speaks to us and we all can relate to.