About the Artist

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" that 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 a three-dimensional image 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, Kentucky. 

Here introspective bird paintings have been selected for inclusion in Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum's 2007 through 2014, and 2016 Birds in Art in Wausau, Wisconsin, and the Society of Animal Artists' Annual Exhibition 2008, 2012, and 2014.

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: The Washington State's Arts Commission Collection; Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii; Christopher Reeve's Spinal Foundation; and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum: 

Publications include: F+W publications Strokes of Genius, and a book to be released early next year Art Journey Animals: A Collection of Inspiring Contemporary Masterworks.  She has also won awards from International Artist, Annual Artist’s Magazine’s Best of Wildlife, and the Art Renewal Center’s International Salon.  She has many 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 Oil Painters of America, The Portrait Society of America, The Cecilia Foundation, and a Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists.