Mary-Anne Stuart is a contemporary mixed media artist based in Melbourne.
Colour and pattern are constant elements in her art. In fact, she believes pattern is integral to life; the very fabric of life, whether human, botanical or animal. Her art works reflect this and her love of Australian flora and fauna.
"The Banksia is my muse and has been my obsession and subject for the last few years. I have coined a phrase – Banksia imaginata – to describe the body of my artworks that are intuitively created and inspired by the unique structure, colours and patterns found in this most unique of Australian native plant species."
Concern for the environment leads her to re-use everyday items in her mark making techniques – from kitchen tools to paper coffee cups, cardboard and sticks, envelopes, magazines and plastic waste material.
“The process of creating an artwork is very important to me and I want people who see my works to gain a bit of the joy I feel about the beauty of the natural world. If there is one thing I’m trying to communicate, it’s that."
“There is a constant overlapping of art, nature, science, music; I see patterns in all of these. Nature seems random and chaotic but there is a plan; it just takes a while to find it. I like to let the materials find their way, to replicate nature.“
You can see current works – paintings & works on paper & works in progress here and selected works are for sale on Bluethumb and in my Etsy store. You can learn more about her here.
Education
BA (Media & Communication) majoring in Visual Communication 2014
Dip Visual Art 2019
Cert IV Graphic Art & Printing2007 /Cert IV Visual Art 2015
Exhibitions
2020
SmART exhbition, Mount Waverley
Moonee Valley Virtual Art Show
Art in Lockdown, virtual exhbition curated by Counterweave Arts (June 2020)
Phylogenesis #2, Black Cat Gallery, Sept-October 2020
Door to Door, Art Aviso at No Vacancy gallery (Nov 2020)
2019
Linden Postcard Show, Linden New Art Gallery
Phylogenesis, Black Cat Gallery (co-organiser)
Camberwell Art Show, Hawthorn
(joint show) Hash Specialty Coffee, Hardware Street, Melbourne
Mount View Art Show
Art4All, Fairfield Primary School
Twitter Art Exhibition, Edinburgh, Scotland
2018
(solo) Hash Specialty Coffee, Hardware Street, Melbourne
Small! Forty Five Downstairs, Flinders Lane
Albert Park College Art Show, Port Melbourne
Linden Postcard Show, Linden Gallery, St Kilda
The Exquisite Palette Show, Tacit Gallery, Collingwood
2017
CAE Diploma group show, Gallery Voltaire, North Melbourne
2016/17/18
Twitter Art Exhibition (New York, UK, Australia)
2016
Brunswick Street Gallery, Small Artworks Prize
Walker Street Gallery 9 x 5 | 
