"With  my style of painting, my subject matter may vary from beautiful horses to the visual grotesqueness of a California Condor. Yet I have always strived to capture the inexplicable "magic"  the permeates the  essence of the subject.  That "intangible something" fascinates me.  In my artwork, I attempt to portray that feeling, as well as the physical attributes and personality of the subject
through paint. I love creating the visual effect of  three dimensionality on a two dimensional surface."

Mary Cornish will tell you her art and creative spirit have always been a determining factor in her approach to life. She was raised in the Puget Sound area of Washington state and received her early art 



After a disabling horseback riding accident, and open heart surgery with complications, she returned to school; receiving her degrees in Visual Communication and Graphic Design from Northwest College of Art.  She began painting professionally in 1992. 

Mary slowly built her following through word of mouth.She then gained wider audiences through National and  International exhibitions and shows.  She has won numerous awards for her artwork, including Grand Prize in 2009 for International Artist Magazine's Favorite Subjects.

She has had solo exhibits throughout the United States, including Seattle, Washington,  Honolulu, Hawaii, and  Warrenton,Virginia.  Mary's equine art has been selected for such shows as Art at the Classic, the Western States Horse Expo, California, and the American Academy of Equine Art, Lexington, Kentucky. 

Here introspective birds paintings have been selected for inclusion in Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum's 2007, 2008, 209, 2010, Birds in Art in Wausau, Wisconsin, and the Society of animal Artists' Small Works big Impressions Show 2008.

Her paintings are included in private,  corporate, and museum collections in the United States and worldwide including Australia, Estonia, and Italy.  She counts among her collectors and publishers: the Washington State's Arts Commission Collection; Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii; Christopher Reeve's Spinal Foundation; the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum,  and  private collectors throughout the United States and abroad.

Mary can be found working in her studio, near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Warrenton, Virginia, where she resides with her husband, Mark Hicks, a master artisan in wood.  She is a member of The Portrait Society of America, The Cecilia Foundation, and the Society of Animal Artists.

Artist of American Realism
Mary Cornish
training through Grace Wagner, and Classical painter William Tartaglia.  As a Senior in high school, she was awarded the National Scholastic Art Award in Painting.  Following high school, her art education was put on hold, while she married and raised her two children.

Copyright Mary Cornish
Artists works, scans and web design protected by copyright.  See copyright information for complete details