Mary Chiaramonte was raised the old fashioned way in Harmony, WV, a remote town of fewer than 100 residents. Growing up there in the early 1980s, Mary and her siblings had no TV. Her family lived off of, and worked on, the land. Encouraged to entertain themselves with objects in nature, the children turned twigs into toys. Mary was left with the workings of her imagination and her observations of the world around her, which she translated into paintings and drawings.

For as long as she can remember, Mary has been interested in knowing about other people and the lives they lead. "There are stories unfolding around me all the time," she explains, "whether my own stories or those of people I come across. I feel compelled to document them. If I can do that, I feel like I have done something worthwhile."

Mary’s paintings are personal. They reflect both the emotions of the persons she paints and the emotions she brings to the story. She seeks to make a connection between the viewer’s life experiences and those of the people whose stories she tells. The stories are purposefully vague. Her cropped figures and dark palette create an atmosphere that seems foreboding at first but, with time, takes on more positive messages of hope, strength, triumph and affirmation.
 

Dead Sea Fruit (2007)	14 x 18 mixed media

Desert Floor (2007)	20 x 15 mixed media

 

St Sebastian (The Hula Girls) (2008)	SOLD