Helping Artist Mary Blake with a portfolio
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Help Mary in the Hospital
Hello and Happy Summer to all of you loyal donors and supporters of Mary Blake. Mary has been in hospital for several weeks for a broken hip. Her dog, Boston, has been looked after by neighbors but they are leaving on vacation and Mary will need to pay for a proper dog sitter for the remainder of July and August and possibly for a dog walker in the fall since she may not be able to walk the dog herself. The going rate is €30 a day, so Mary would need to raise approximately €1500 to cover the cost of the dog sitter from now until the end of August. I’m sure you all know how much Mary loves her dog and depends on her for companionship. Because of her recent injury, Mary has been unable to work and her subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud expired. She needs a new subscription but has not sold any works for some time, so she is short on cash. An annual subscription to Creative Cloud is currently running at €720 a year. In addition she needs paint and canvas supplies necessary for her art at €300/month. We would be very grateful if we could raise €5280. Please take another look at her paintings and watercolors for sale below. Kindly consider helping Mary again. Thank you!
Here are some of the larger, original acrylics as further examples of the depth & scope of her work; these ranging from 1989 to 2008. These 5 are also available now to our GoFundMe supporters. Please click the CONTACT button below to reserve a painting or to receive further photo details of the works. All canvases are signed and dated ... and click Read more to scroll down to further paintings.
Please support the work of Paris artist, Mary Blake.
This special selection of watercolours, from 1978 to 2008, is now reproduced as high-quality prints , available to Mary Blake's generous followers in support of her remarkable work. Please click the CONTACT button below to let us know which prints are 'calling to you' or to receive a PDF of the 5 prints for closer review.
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Mary has lived and worked in Paris for over 25 years in a studio in the historic artists’ colony of Montmartre, her prolific output supported by a faithful circle of local patrons and collectors. Unfortunately, that support was not up to the demands of certain urgent legal and financial crises earlier in the year, and thus the GoFundMe project was mounted to rally financial support from all Mary's friends in France and her wider circle around the world.
The first part of the GFM project was a tremendous, heartwarming success, raising €14 000 to take care of the most pressing home and studio issues and we’re immensely grateful for everyone’s wonderful generosity.
This final phase aims to achieve the remaining €6 000 for some very urgent legal issues, the much-needed updating of the artist's working needs and the commissioning of a professional website to offer a permanent commercial window for her very extensive catalogue and on-going creative output.
To mark this final phase of the Mary Blake GoFundMe Project, we have arranged limited edition Fine Art Prints of five special watercolors (from among hundreds!) which mark certain lines in Mary's artistic journey from 1975 to 2008.
These are being made available to thank all contributors of at least €/$ 140.
Mary's Patrons are a vital, continuing part in the re-shaping of her life and work for years to come.
We hope you’ll kindly make a generous contribution to help this wonderful artist achieve the next important phase in her career. PLEASE clieck to CONTACT link below to let us know of your print selection or to receive a PDF of the collection for closer review.
From Mary Blake and all her Paris friends and supporters; we thank your in advance for your invaluable support.
EL July 20, 2022
PS: For an extensive and colorful insight into the life and art of Mary Blake,
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From Mary's Bio: "Mary Blake, painter, writer, humanist and bon vivant has made art her raison d’etre since 1969 when she enrolled at The Art Students League of New York. Two years later and unlike most artists of the day moving downtown to Soho to follow the Abstract Impressionist movement, Mary chose Paris as her point of departure.
Far from large scale action painting, Mary’s abstract vision was more akin to chromo-luminarisme – a technique seen in the early 1900’s of arranging colors in their pure form to obtain the maximum of light. In 1974 she held her first exhibition of these works at La Galerie Archiefleur. Group exhibitions at La Grand Palais and The American Center boulevard Raspail followed. A six month journey throughout India in 1977 enriched the artist’s palette to a new radiance. The ever present exotic birds now became her primary subject with her brush and her pen.
In 1978 she returned to New York City and continued to paint these feathered creatures. They took flight in a storybook, Spencer Treetop Learns To Dance. She visited Paris in 1987 and was invited back for an exhibition of the well remembered abstract water colors. That was all that was needed to make the transfer permanently back to France. In 1993 she took her easel to the street to paint a friend’s restaurant .
This act was the beginning of a ten year adventure. She left her Montparnasse neighborhood to settle in Montmartre. The upward turning angles of the streets suited her forever optimistic floating compositions. The neighborhood was soaked with folklore of the famed artists that once graced The Butte Montmartre. The village atmosphere and cafè life were the models for her lively paintings.
After a number of years the abstract painting gained priority. In September of this year an alluring incentive directed Mary back to the street to paint a friend’s café. She had forgotten how exciting it was to feel the energy of the people and then paint it. She continued painting other spots in her neighborhood and posted them on the the social network to much success. As for abstract vs. figurative, the artist says,” It’s really all about the same thing ... beauty... pleasure... Paris."
Organizer
Emily Lodge
Organizer
Paris, A8