Mary Lee Maynard

I work in art departments in Television, Cinema and Theatre. I have been in and off stage for more than a decade. Graduated from Concordia University in Fine Arts with an interest for street art, working class, community development. Now looking for hands on approaches to art, I work among technicians, designers and directors to fulfill my creative drives.

''I think that one of the most important things when creating anything is knowing that it's used to build something greater, something people will look upon and get inspired by, nothing more, nothing less!''

I range from photography to illustration, cutting through graphic novels, props and painting. I have a great variety and differ my visions to create different parts of my own interests. I started making art because I couldn't find anything I imagined, then I continued making art because I discovered more and more of what I'd come to love through different scenes, industries and disciplines. Now, I make art because I chose this path of knowledge and do not care for anything without creativity engraved in its core.

Thanks for the support,
Mary

Many believe artists are weird, many others think they are selfish. I believe it's a mixture of need and arrogance. You do not necessarily choose to become an artist, nor do you truly become one until peers, industries and the market actually acquire your works and talk about you. May it be positive or negative, making art is about needing it, not being able to do it without any money, starving or being too creative for 9-5 office jobs. In this I include many disciplines and departments as I believe set builders and illustrators strive for creation as much as they work under rigorous deadlines and great satisfaction for the product created.

Being an artist also makes your work individual and sequestrated at times. Which detaches some of the process from reality as you create a world around you for different reasons in order to have the works be complete. Complete in the sense that they make their own sense. Art is a sacrifice you make and that pays off only at certain times. It is also something that is valuable and relative to things you do not control. You can pretend you control the market, but only a handful of people will can a chance to value the works, processes and individuals that fit a profile at the right moment and time.

This said, I greatly value the variety of artists that chose to develop on something more than just art for art's sake. And deeply enjoy artistic expressions that go from sketch to play, from idea to graphic novels. Maybe it's me that found a way to convince myself that I have a right to be an artist, but at this point in time, that's what keeps me going on a day to day basis: Knowing that my works will one day be something greater than a simple lovely portrait on paper.

GalerieFRINGE (Velvet 1, canvas) @ MainLine Theatre Dec. 9 2012
Marilyn ,3x4 feet, acrylic on canvas @ Mémoires Vives (television set: Samantha's kitchen) 2012
Ordered by assistant: Pierre-Yves Gagnon, Artistic Director: Raymond Dupuis
En mouvement ,3x3 feet, acrylic on canvas @ Mémoires Vives (television set: Samantha's house) 2012
Ordered by chief decorator: Ginette Paré, Artistic Director: Raymond Dupuis
Fringe Street Art (mural) @ Fringe Park des Amériques june 15-16 2012
GalerieFRINGE (Feeding, Bebulles series, canvas) @ Studio Beluga june 8-9 2012
Black and White art exhibition sale (We Look for Heights) @ Ben Navaee Gallery, Toronto 2011
Open Photography Exhibition (We Look for Heights) @ Ben Navaee Gallery, Toronto 2011
Making it Sideways (art book), The Factory Line 2010
Anything and Everything (paintings) @ Gallery X 2010