Mary-Lynne Stadler

Natural forms are the main focus of my most recent work, in particular the complex structure of one particular old olive tree that caught my attention a few years ago.

I have been investigating her labyrinth of branches and truncations, her many textures and dark hollows in colour pencil and charcoal drawings, using also watercolour, print and pen and ink. Initially the work was mainly about understanding the many intertwined layers and wide array of textures.

Though fairly literal, those early works have been an essential part of my process towards abstractions that I am currently working on as a way of distilling the essence of my synergistic relationship with this tree.

Over time, the tree has taken on the role of my alter ego. Working with her has become the springboard for a new series of work on my family tree in honour of my ancestors and their wanderings around the globe.

As a child in Africa I was able to spend my days in close contact with the earth and the sea, and continue to be fascinated by all that our natural world has to offer us. Art would have been my first choice of career had that route not been blocked to me very early on, but fortune favoured me when I was in my 40s, and found me a mentor who cha...

I graduated with a First Class Honours in Creative Arts from Bath Spa University College in 2001, was awarded a Fellowship in Stone Lithography the following year and a Post Graduate Diploma in art from the Cyprus College of Art in 2004.

For a complete listing of the exhibitions that I have participated in please refer to my website at www.marylynnestadler.com