I was born in Oakland, California and at the age of six my family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In the first grade, I sold my first painting from a group show. It was one of many family portraits I painted, my world as the youngest of seven children. I think, in some way, I’m still painting that portrait, only my sense of family is more largely defined.
When I turned twenty, I moved back to Oakland to attend art school at California College of the Arts (then CCAC) and completed my BFA with an emphasis in painting, printmaking and textile arts. During my studies, I was greatly influenced by the imagery of the Etruscans as well as the Expressionists.
By and by, figurative artists such as Leon Golub, Jacob Lawrence, Max Beckmann, Romare Bearden, and most recently the stunning quilt paintings of Bisa Butler, began and continue to resonate. Photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, and Diane Arbus opened my eyes to the beauty within the mundane ordinariness of life. I admire the tenacity and independent spirit of Eva Hesse whose short life had so much influence on modern art. Her something/nothingness philosophy and spontaneous and candid approach to her work was deeply inspired.
I love the printed page and as an artist first and foremost, writing is another way to paint a picture. Of present life in the city. Of days gone by. And future visions. Of people who are inspiring and shaking our world in positive ways. Characters who remind us of family and friends near and far. Tales that start as seedlings and become ripened fruit ready to pluck from the tree of our richly entangled roots. Stories to taste and savor and share.
As a word junkie, the vast swirl of expressions from the Sufi poet Kabir and insightful ruminations of the Persian poet Rumi to contemporary writers and poets like Don DeLillo, Jeanette Winterson, Mary Oliver, Jane Hirschfield, Barbara Kingsolver, Toni Morrison and Arundhati Roy and so many others spark my fire.
My intention, whether in words on paper or paint on canvas, is to capture a simple moment, thought, or gesture of the ordinary while suggesting the extraordinary and mysterious sanctuary that lies beneath the surface. This contemplation is my constant source material.
Many of my series titles for art collections and short story collections overlap and intersect, reverberating adjacent themes. My process is very stream-of-consciousness. Simple images and bits of words converge as memory and metaphor onto canvas and become part of life’s family portrait. I have exhibited in numerous solo shows in California and have been featured in group exhibitions in Germany and Japan.
So that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it! Do drop a line or two should you feel inspired to share your story with me!
mary corbin 