Still Painting in a time of Plague.

This piece was painted at the beginning of the first wave of Covid19. I had in mind how the depictions of pandemics had been portrayed through the ages by artists like Goya. But it was important not to be too dark in spirit. I thought of the playfulness of the Day of the Living Dead, the Dance Macabre and the images associated with Guns and Roses. The green underpainting of the icons of the Middle Ages is often the only part of the image left today and the effect is of a ghostly presence. I worked on making it more dramatic with the red roses and red lips.
I see this work as more a portrait of a particular time, the era of Covid, than as a self portrait. It could hang comfortably in a study or conversation area, or equally well in an Art Deco bathroom— black and white tiles or grey marble.

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Mary Larnach Jones grew up in Queensland and considers the tropical colours of her youth are the reason that colour is so important to her when she paints. The early part of her life did not involve art. She has a B.A. from the University of Queensland and later did law over a period of time while traveling and raising a family. She considers she was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to live and travel throughout Europe when her husband was posted to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for three years. The art treasures of the museums, galleries and churches throughout Europe she found quite overwhelming. From the appreciation of these works sprang a desire to paint. However it wasn’t until she was in her thirties that she had the opportunity to train for her true career. She studied trompe l’oeil and mural painting which was a useful skill in Melbourne in the eighties when the fashion was to have a painted fantasy not only in every garden and dining room, but in many restaurants and public buildings. This was a very busy period. She had big public commissions, Florentino’s and Raheen in Melbourne as well as countless private homes. At the same time she studied portrait, landscape and general tonal oils and learned icon writing . She had a portrait agent and enjoyed painting the kings of industry and headmasters as well as families and domestic portraits.
Eventually she concentrated on making and exhibiting works on canvas , but, when appropriate, she continues to include the techniques she learned as a muralist and icon writer into her oil paintings. In the 80s and 90s she exhibited frequently in Melbourne and was represented in Brisbane by Philip Bacon Galleries and in Sydney by Eva Brewer Galleries. Moving to the country in 1994 was life changing for her art practice. She loves her studio which is a converted 1930’s barn. She started to exhibit in the Macedon Ranges and have Studio exhibitions . She now manages her own portrait commissions. She is excited to be member of the Bluethumb community and experience a new way of bring her paintings to the world.