Rapid River Magazine: How did you get involved with art?

Mary Decker: I have been drawing and painting my entire life. My earliest commissioned art was for classmates in 1st grade who asked me to do their assigned drawings for them. I wonder how many of my drawings graced the refrigerators of unsuspecting parents.

I didn’t paint continuously throughout my life, but the need to express myself through painting was always inside me. At times ‘something’ inside me just had to come out and the only way to express it was through painting. Years might go by without me ever lifting a brush, but then, suddenly, something needed expression and I would work around the clock painting until I captured that feeling.

RRM: Where do you derive your inspiration from?

MD: Growing up in the Pocono mountains, surrounded by the wonders of Nature, I was enthralled by the intricacies of plants, with their form and structure, down to the tiniest detail. The variety astounded and intrigued me then, as it does now.

RRM: We would love to hear about your emphasis on the beauty of flowers and nature and why you have primarily chosen this subject.

MD: As a gardener, growing and tending plants, my fascination with nature “blossomed.” I was so captivated by its beauty and so intrigued with it that I wanted to study it in depth. Painting granted me entry into an even deeper level of beauty. Structure. How the petals or leaves curved. Color variations. The closer I looked, the more intrigued I got.

Walking through botanical gardens, I watch people all taking photos of the flowers—gorgeous flowers. But lately what catches my attention is the foliage—the colors, shapes, textures, and how the sunlight plays off the leaves. It fascinates me.

I want my art to draw the viewer closer into Nature. To look beyond the obvious. To take a close-up look and experience my fascination with the natural world.

RRM: How does the area’s growth impact your artistic expression?

MD: This area is known for art. People coming here appreciate the creative expression of artists. There will be a segment of the public with whom my art resonates—regardless of the direction my art takes. If I take a detour from painting flowers and focus on foliage, perhaps I may lose one portion of the audience but there will be another segment to which the foliage paintings appeal.

We, as artists, paint for ourselves, because painting/creating is something we have to do. But there is still some part of us deep within that wants acceptance, and getting that acceptance is liberating for the creative spirit.

Mary Decker’s art is available at:
Asheville Gallery of Art, 82 Patton Avenue, Downtown Asheville
Cedar Hill Studio, 196 N. Main Street, Waynesville
Visit Mary online at www.chartreusemoose.com