In 2004 after years of painting in the studio I went outdoors to paint the landscape. This simple act of going outdoors to paint for the next fourteen years had a major effect on my work and my focus.
These years of painting en plein air have changed the way I make paintings, the way I experience the landscape and the reason I paint.
The focus of my work is to paint the experience of the world from an authentic place. The process to this place was a long one. After a substantial amount of practice in the field I was able paint outdoors and successfully execute paintings that were closer to my inner vision.
My work is painted alla prima. I usually finish a painting in one outdoor session. My aim is to capture the feeling, mood, and light as simply as possible. I work with a limited palette and a sketchbook. In my sketchbook I mentally plan the painting by drawing before I pick up my brush. I paint in a direct, fresh, loose manner that is the result of thoughtfully chosen brushstrokes. Color relationships, design and mood are important in my work. My objective is to paint fresh, loose, understated paintings that invite the viewer to experience the feeling of a moment, mood or place.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Third Place, Cape Ann Quick Draw, Cape Ann, MA 2016(non juried category)
Honorable Mention, Castine Plein Air, Castine,Maine 2016
Second Place, Ocean Park Plein Air, Ocean Park, Maine 2014
First Place, Castine Plein Air, Castine, Maine 2013
Lousie Demeter Memorial Award, North Shore Arts Association, Gloucester, MA 2011
Southwest Art Magazine, Finalist, Emerging Artist,“21 over 31”, 2010
Third Place, Art Guild of the Kennebunks, Summer Show, 2010
Jurors Honorable Mention, “Exhibit A” Group Show, Franklin Pierce, Concord, NH, 2008
Jurors Choice Award, “Exhibit A” Group Show, Franklin Pierce, Concord, NH, 2007
Jurors Honorable Mention, “Exhibit A” Group Show, Franklin Pierce, Concord, NH, 2007
Viewers Choice Award, “Exhibit A” Group Show, Franklin Pierce, Concord, NH, 2007
Viewers Choice Award, “Exhibit A” Group Show, Franklin Pierce, Concord, NH, 2006
First Place, International Packaging Design, for Lindt Inc., Stratham, NH, 1995
First Place Sculpture, Professional Division, Cranes Beach, Ipswich, MA, 1994
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Circle the Pond, Artist in Residence Exhibition, 2014
Portland Show House, Artist in Residence Exhibition, 2014
Maine State House, Speaker of the House Exhibition, 2013, 2014
Beth Ellis Cove Gallery, Ogunquit, ME 2013, 2014
Kennedy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, 2006, 2008, 2014
Falmouth ME, Artist in Residence Exhibition, 2012
Kenneth Roberts Estate, Kennebunkport, ME, Artist in Residence Exhibition, 2012
Galleria Fine Arte, Stowe, VT, 2011, 2012
A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words Gallery, Exeter, NH, 2010, 2015, 2016
LACA Gallery, New Market, NH, 2008
International Art Festival, Gothenberg, Sweden, 2007
Galleri Hiris, Gothenberg, Sweden, 2006
The Portsmouth Collection, Portsmouth, NH, 1988, 1989, 1992
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
Circle the Pond, South Berwick, ME 2014
Portland Show House, Manderly, Portland, ME 2014
Beachmere Inn, Ogunquit, ME 2013 ~ 2017
The Hartwell House, Ogunquit, ME 2013 ~2017
Falmouth Show House, Falmouth, ME 2013
Kenneth Roberts Estate, Kennebunkport, ME 2012
10th Victorian Tea, North Parsonsfield, ME 2013, 2015
Annual ParSem Day, North Parsonsfield, ME 2011 ~ 2014
MEDIA & REVIEWS
Plein Air Magazine, “No Ceilings Please” 2017
Plein Air Magazine, “Extreme Painting”, 2014
Plein Air Magazine, Out Door Painter “Maine Artist Mary Byrom” 2013
Portland Press Herald, “Artist Mary Byrom captures the always changing natural world” 2013
Plein Air Magazine, “Extreme Painting”, 2011
Southwest Art, “21 over 31”, 2010
Portsmouth Herald, “Silence And Solitude” 2008
Epoch Times, “Painting the Landscape”, 2007
Sound of Hope, Epoch Media, TV 1 hr. 2006
“Mary Byrom, Plein Air Painter”, Portsmouth Herald, 2006
“Balancing Act”, Portsmouth Herald, 2006
Vermont Public Television, 1984, “Vermont Artists”
SELECTED INVITATIONAL AND JURIED EXHIBITIONS
Acadia National Park 100th Anniversary Exhibition, Augusta, Maine 2015-2016
Blue Hill Bay Gallery, Blue Hill, ME 2014~2017
Mast Cove Gallery, Kennebunkport, ME 2014
Beth Ellis Cove Gallery, Ogunquit, ME 2013
Castine Plein Air, Castine, ME 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
Ocean Park Plein Air, Ocean Park, ME 2014, 2015, 2017
Castle Hill, Trustees of Reservations, Ipswich, MA 2013 – 2017
South and Maine, Coco Vivo, Boothbay, Maine 2013
Galleria Fine Arte’, Stowe, VT, 2011~ 2014
Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT Plein Air Show, 2012
Vermont Plein Air, North Bennington, VT, 2010 ~ 2012
Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT, Impressions of New England, 2012
American Impressionist Society, Carmel, CA, National Show 2011
North Shore Art Association, Gloucester, MA, 2011, 2012
Maine Art Gallery, Kennebunk, ME, Plein Air, 2009~ 2011
North Light Gallery, Kennebunkport, ME, 2010
Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, Cape Elizabeth, ME, Paint for Preservation, 2009, 2010
Pierce Law Regional Show, Concord, NH, 2006 ~ 2008
100 Market, Portsmouth, NH, 2006 ~ 2008
Kennedy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, 2006 ~ 2017
REPRESENTATION
Blue Hill Bay Gallery, Bluehill, ME
Mast Cove Gallery, Kennebunkport, ME
Kennedy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
American Impressionist Society, 2011
North Shore Art Assoc. 2011
Plein Air Painters of Maine 2006 ~2018