As
a child, Mary was never without pencil or crayon and paper to draw on. "I
always doodled and coloring books were a passion of mine. A California native,
Mary grew up in the Pasadena area. After high school graduation, she married
and raised two children. Although she enrolled in the Famous Artist's Course
- studying commercial art, the demands of raising a family prevented her
from continuing and she put aside her dreams of becoming an artist. Her
dream finally came true following her retirement from the real estate business
in the early 1980's when she enrolled in the Laguna Beach School of Art,
Laguna Beach, California. Her teacher, Roger Armstrong, encouraged her to
enter the National Watercolor Society annual competititon.
Her work was accepted into the exhibit and she received the honor of being
juried into the orgainzation as a Signature Member. With a good start in
the fundamentals she went on to study with Scott Moore, Linda Stevens Moyer
and the late Robert E. Wood.
Mary was always in love with watercolor. "It was watercolor from the start".
Her work represents her personal way of seeing, point of view, interpretation
and unique expression. "I find inspiration in everything that surrounds
me. I strive to give the viewer a heightened awareness; to stimulate the richness
of their surroundings. People often miss the beauty around them. I like
to help them see it more fully through my paintings".
Mary Backer's awards and honors are many; her work is included in museum, corporate and numerous private collections and she has been published in leading art publications including Watercolor Magazine (American Artist Magazine), Splash 1 & Splash 9, The best of Flower Painting (North Light Books), Best of Watercolor: Painting Composition, Easy Solutions: Color Mixing; and Art of The American West (Rockport Publishers). Mary's book "Watercolor in Bloom", published by North Light Books is now available at Amazon.com.
She is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West (past president), and an Artist member of the California Art Club.