MARY JANE Q. CROSS 

 

PO Box 724,   Newport, New Hampshire 03773

www.q-cross.com   www.maryjaneqcross.com  Qcross@earthlink.net
 

“Respecting beauty, truth, craftsmanship, wins over…..shock, ingenuity, novelty. To this end I will pursue beauty… all the days of my life.”  

I am the sole creator of my, oil on panel, Classical realism, finger paintings. Paintings are done on Gessoed  Ampersand panels with the new generation of Water Miscible Oils that are minimaly toxic and wash up with soap and water. Due to a tremor that makes it difficult to control a brush, the paintings are 95% to 98% painted with my fingers and 2% to 5% with a brush, using prosthetic devices that are of my own invention. Effective barrier creams are used to protect my fingers. I am also fully involved in the photographic and print process. As a result of the tremor and the difficulty to get the work I desire, done, I have retired from Portrait commissions.

The contemporary, fine art, Genre Portraits are realistic figures in domestic or country scenes, that the viewers do not need to know personally, to fully enjoy. Taking into consideration the light effects and the time it takes to capture an image, I do rely on photographs, sometimes over 600 in a long day of a shoot, with a model. The young women are all dear friends and incredibly cooperative to also come and pose if needed at the studio. However, the sensibility and freshness of a shoot is difficult to have last into a studio sitting. Getting to know them well is what lasts into the passion of the actual painting so that I am painting what I know, rather than just an image. Most of the costuming is made by me and directing what I can is important. All of the lighting in the work is done, with great admiration, by….God.
 

The emotional and spiritual state that I remember as a youth is a strong theme in the figurative paintings. Purity, abandon and safety are all present and so is the quietness of taking pause in this life, the pause to be refreshed and renewed. The constant movement of a tremor has made me realize that I paint quiet ….still images. Stillness does not always come from the outside but from the quiet truth of the Soul and Spirit. My paintings have taught me a great deal about the vitality of living life. I am always listening to them, loving them, nurturing them. Finding good homes for them remains a strong focus.  

I truly am delighted to answer questions.