Mary Bechtol Canyon,Texas, USA
Mary Bechtol paints as a way of expressing her personal views of the world around her. She paints primarily in oils “because of the beautiful sheen and vibrant luster they produce.” She is inspired by “Light. Light. Light.” and the way it plays on an object. Mary frequently paints in series, “Once something stirs my imagination I find it hard to say everything about the subject on one canvas.” Mary and her husband David live on a farm in Canyon, Texas. She grew up on the Southern Plains. “My father worked for an oil company and we moved frequently. Most would agree that there isn’t much to look at on the Plains, but with each family move I began to notice subtle differences in the landscape. I saw varying shades, hues and tones and how the colors changed with the differing light.” Most of Mary’s landscapes begin en plein air. Although an accomplished plein air painter, she uses these pieces as her reference with which to create the finished studio paintings. Giving the viewer barely enough information to recognize a location, her greatest focus is “on the push and pull of color which gives each piece its depth.” An art instructor once told Mary that different hues of the same value excite the eye. “This defined the colors of my childhood. I strive to capture these nuances on each canvas by limiting my palette to only 4 or 5 colors and focus on making each canvas predominately cool or warm. I paint less to depict the landscape than to capture the colors.” Mary is an avid bird-watcher so you will always find at least one bird in her landscape paintings.
Above: Field at Sunset Oil on canvas 24 x 24 in. or 61 x 61 cm Left Top: Panhandle Field Oil on canvas 16 x 16 in. or 41 x 41 cm Middle: Tall Weeds Oil on canvas 48 x 48 in. or 122 x 122 cm Bottom: Morning over the Southern Plains Oil on canvas 48 x 48 in. or 122 x 122 cm Opposite Page: Wheatfields II Oil on canvas 48 x 60 in. or 122 x 152 cm
W W W. M A R Y B E C H TO L . C O M / M A R Y B @ M A R Y B E C H TO L . C O M 70
International Contemporary Masters VIII