Mary Perkins, born and raised in North Toronto, has always had a deep-rooted love of nature. Spending hours of her childhood exploring the Don Valley left a lasting impression and years later she tapped into her creative passion for painting these memories. Much of her love for the outdoors is exhibited in painted naturescapes and inspired by her recurring time in Huntsville, Ottawa and Brampton.

Perkins takes great pride in her ability to create with oils canvases large and small. Over the past year she has been awarded numerous praises including being curated by Toronto's Gallery 1313 in the Emerging Artist Exhibition and Summer Time Exhibition, by Beaux Arts Brampton in their Everything Beaux and Sightful Secrets exhibitions, We R the North Exhibition and Cadence of Art exhibitions at Headwaters Arts and will be in a group exhibition at Studio k2 this summer and fall. She received a special merit award from The Marketer Magazine 2020 art competition based in Ottawa. Mary’s painting, Heart Lake, will be published in the City of Brampton’s 2020 Urban Forest Management report, and she will have a number of her works featured in the summer of 2021 at the Lakeside Studio Gallery in Bath, Ontario as a visiting guest artist. Her belief that we, as individuals, are consistently evolving is reflected in her evolving styles, landscapes and mediums.

"It is my belief that our urban green spaces hold immense soothing, healing, restorative powers. I find peace and wonder in the open spaces of nature, as I breathe in its scents, listen to urban wildlife abound, and find beauty and connectivity in the simple things that surround us: the sky, tree, grasses, earth and stone. My oil paintings reflect the beauty and natural progressions that I find in both urban and rural spaces, in different seasons, at different times of the day and night, and in many varieties of flora. Nature, to me, is always a source of inspiration, relaxation and rejuvenation. The purpose to collecting pieces of artwork is to find connections and joy to make your space your own. Art can add to any space, big or small. Art, through colour and texture, create an emotional impact that conjure up feelings and memories worthy of embracing." - Mary Perkins

Friday's Resolve by Mary Perkins