Clockwise from top left:
Botanical Study #14, ink and gouache on paper mounted on board, 6"x6", 2014
Studio Shot
Botanical Study #5, ink and gouache on paper mounted on board, 6"x6", 2013
Botanical Study # 1, ink and gouache on paper mounted on board, 6"x6", 2013
Botanical Study #15, ink and gouache on paper mounted on board, 4"x4", 2014
Botanical Study #13 (Rose), ink and gouache on paper mounted on board, 6"x6", 2014
Blue Bouquet, ink and gouache on paper mounted on board, 10"x10", 2014
Artist, Mary O'Malley
“That whenever any style of ornament commands universal admiration, it will always be found to be in accordance with the laws which regulate the distribution of form in nature.”
—Owen Jones, The Grammar of Ornament
"My work begins with a fascination with nature combined with an obsession with ornamentation and decoration. Most of my work is hand drawn on paper with fine point pens; most recently I have begun exploring layering with gouache and other inks. I draw inspiration from many sources—botanical illustration, Hindu and Islamic art and architecture, decorative arts, geological phenomena and fractal geometry. Flora and fauna, obsessive patterning and a Baroque sensibility come together to create a new world of hybrid chandeliers, psychedelic altars, curious bouquets, and imagined landscapes."—Mary O'Malley
Mary O’Malley earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 1997; in 2005 she received her Master of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York. O’Malley’s work has been exhibited widely, including Drawn to Detail, at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, and twice in the juried publication, New American Paintings. In 2010, her work was acquired by the U.S. Embassy in Dubai. She has been the recipient of several grants, including two Massachusetts Cultural Council grants and, most recently, the Berkshire Taconic Foundation.
She lives and works near the ocean north of Boston.
www.maryomalleyart.bigcartel.com