If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don't hoard it. Don't dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke. - Author Brendan Francis
Those who have seen Mary Cobb's work would undoubtedly agree with Brendan Francis's observation on talent in regard to Mary's artistic ability and endeavors. Mary Cobb has lavished her artistic talents on people for some fifty years, and those who have seen and admired her work, are much the richer. From her first steps as a professional artist, when she clipped up two charcoal sketches at the second Saint James Art Fair in 1958, to her far flung travels in which she has sketched the world around her, Mary Cobb has brought learning, enjoyment, and inspiration, to countless people.
A Louisville native, Mary studied painting and drawing at Sarah Lawrence College. Documenting the life around her is an essential part of who she is. Even in the midst of the demands of raising a family, Mary kept her art supplies near at hand. Those first tentative steps toward a professional career as an artist at St. James led to commissions and a growing reputation as on of Louisville's most sought after portrait painters. But for Mary it has been the inspiration she draws from her subjects that is most important. Her clients over the years include not only Louisville's most prominent and successful families but those forgotten and cast aside souls who find refuge at St. John Center. Trips around the world – be it Italy, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, or Ghana – are an opportunity for Mary to chronicle in word and images her experiences and the people she meets. Her sketches might be simple pen and ink renderings of a scene encountered on a street. the might be more studied works using washes, watercolors, or oils. But capturing the essence of her subject is what guides her in depicting a person or scene. "How best to express a person is what dictates the light and materials," Mary observes. Equally important is the human subject being comfortable. Whether in her studio or a doctor's office in Bolgatonga, Ghana, the person's "comfort is essential - a contrived or constrained position becomes uncomfortable and unnatural very soon." She must connect with her subjects in order to truly capture and depict them.
Take
note of the light, the flow, the medium, and inspiration of
the works of Mary Cobb exhibited here. They span time,
distance, and life's experiences. They might be
detailed oils or spare pen sketches, people or places, but
they all document Mary's love of people and life and how she
touches and communicates with them. Her "magical
moments" have become our magical moments. Mary
Cobb has not hoarded nor doled out her talent like a miser
– she has lavished it
on us to enjoy.
The exhibit is open Monday –
Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM.
The exhibit
runs from April 1, 2006 – August, 31, 2006.