Mary Reilly

Cherry Blossoms 2, black-and-white tree drawing, graphite pencil on paper

2024

This graphite drawing by Mary Reilly captures the delicate beauty of blossoms she encountered on a walk in Vermont. Reilly, known for her mastery of graphite pencil, transforms ordin...

In her newest landscape drawing, Flowering Hillside, Mary Reilly explores the full tonal depth of graphite. She finds all of the soft subtleties of gray in her movement from the mome...

Mary Reilly explores the full tonal depth of graphite in her nature drawings and landscapes. She finds all of the soft subtleties of gray as she shifts seamlessly from leaf to bud, s...

Mary Reilly’s laborious method of toning her paper serves as the starting point for her intricate compositions. She begins by covering the entire sheet with up to eight smooth, unmod...

Treesong (Contemporary, Realist Charcoal Landscape Drawing by Sue Bryan) 18 x 24 x 2 inches Charcoal and acrylic on Primed Arches Paper Mounted on Wood Panel Excellent condition, Ready to hang as is This contemporary charcoal landscape drawing on arches paper was completed in 2021 by Sue Bryan. Born in Ireland, the artist uses landscapes from her childhood as inspiration for her current work primarily consisting of beautifully detailed charcoal drawings of trees and wooded landscapes. The artist captures exquisite detail and luminous light with the mere use of black and white charcoal and carbon pencil. The artist creates this tree through a blend of light and shadow that demonstrates the artist's masterful technique. Dark leaves and winding branches in black charcoal contrast elegantly against a light filled sky. There is sturdy wire installed on the back for easy hanging. Artist Statement: "My work is drawing based. As a native of Ireland, the landscape there has certainly shaped and influenced my own history. Many of my drawings are of places that have a deep personal association for me; an endeavor perhaps to stay connected to my roots. My aim is not only to convey a sense of place and belonging, but also an attempt to capture the ineffable, to evoke a feeling or a memory, to invite the viewer to look beyond and beneath what they see. My process is one of building up tones and textures using a combination of charcoal, carbon and graphite, all of which yield a wonderful range of blacks and grays that vary in density and transparency as much as in tonality. Much of drawing’s appeal to me lies in its very constraint, in its simplification, in the reduction of nature’s macrocosm to the coal-black char of organic matter. For me, the act of drawing is an end in itself." About the work: A native of Ireland, Sue Bryan explores the memories of youth rooted in her homeland's landscape. Employing charcoal on both paper and panel, these moody and misty studies reminds us that the water-locked terrain is not always sunny and green. Exquisite detail found in each tree branch or mass of tall grasses lining the horizon dominates the foreground. Light emulates from the background attempting to penetrate the density of opaque cloud cover. Bryan's small scale drawings convey an intimate and highly personal sense of place and belonging. SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2019 'A Quiet Respite", Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2018 'DRAWN',5th Annual International Exhibition of Contemporary Drawing, Manifest Gallery, OH 2018 'On Paper - An Exhibition of Drawings', Florence Academy of Art, NJ 2018 'MONOCHROME', Bo.Lee Gallery, London 2017 'Arboreal', Manifest Gallery, OH 2017 'Hudson Valley Landscapes', Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2017 'Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, London, October 2017 'A Long Way from Home', Bo.Lee Gallery, London 2017 187th Annual Exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland 2017 'Palette', Abend Gallery, Denver, CO 2017 'Summer Exhibit', Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York 2017 'Exquisite Abandon : Contemporary Miniature Works', Laguna College of Art & Design 2017 8th Annual Drawing Discourse, University of North Carolina Ashville 2017 'Small is Beautiful', Le Salon Vert, Geneva Switzerland 2016 'Smart Dust', Group Show, Sla307, 307 West 30th Street, New York, NY 2016 'Inside Outside', Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2016 7th Annual Drawing Discourse, S Tucker Cooke Gallery, University of North Carolina Asheville 2016 186th Annual Exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland 2016 DRAWN, 3rd Annual International Exhibition of Contemporary Drawing, Manifest Gallery, OH 2016 'Summer Group Invitational', George Billis Gallery, NYC 2015 'Radical Inventions', Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2015 'Strange Paradise', First Street Gallery's National Juried Exhibition, Juror Steven Harvey 2015 185th Annual Exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland 2015 'DRAWN' 2nd Annual International Exhibition of Contemporary Drawing, Manifest Gallery 2015 7th Annual Juried Exhibition, Prince Street Gallery, NYC, Juror Robert Berlind 2015 Bradley International Print & Drawing Exhibition, Heuser Art Center, IL, Juror Beth Grabowski 2015 'Interactive Lines' Small Group Invitational, Cabarrus Arts Council, Condor, NC 2014 ‘Regarding the Sublime’, Small Group Invitational, North Park University, IL 2014 27th Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College Art Gallery 2014 184th Annual Exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland 2014 'DRAWN’ 1st Annual International Exhibition of Contemporary Drawing, Manifest Gallery 2014 POP-UP : On and Off the Wall, Series 2, Invited Artist, First Street Gallery, NYC 2014 5th Drawing Discourse, University of North Carolina, Asheville, Juror Tim Lowly 2013 VISTA [landscape in contemporary art], National Juried Show, Manifest Gallery 2013 Marks, A National Juried Drawing Exhibition, Madelon Powers Art Gallery, East Stroudsburg University, PA 2013 American Art Today : Figures, The Bascom, A Center for Visual Art, Juror Jonathan Stuhlman 2013 First Street Gallery's National Juried Exhibition, Juror Donald Kuspit 2013 4th Annual Drawing Discourse, S Tucker Cooke Gallery, University of North Carolina, Asheville, Juror Susan Hauptman 2012 Fort Wayne Museum of Art Contemporary Realism Biennial, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Juror Frank Bernarducci 2012 25th Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College Art Gallery, Juror Sarah McKenzie 2011 Salmagundi Annual Non-Member Open Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, NYC 2011 33rd Bradley International Print & Drawing Exhibition, Juror Robert E Marx

Chicago-based fine art painter Bruno A. Surdo is classically trained in drawing and oil painting in the tradition of Renaissance masters. With strong command of the human form, Surdo creates dynamic compositions of people and places that communicate a rich commentary on the world around him. Depicting trees from personal encounters, Surdo’s latest body of work entitled “Tree Spirits” takes us on a foray into the forest, where leaves, branches and burls express something deeply personal. Applying his mastery of figurative realism to the natural world, he experiments with form and texture to uncover the intangible spirits of trees. This charcoal drawing entitled “Memory of Leaves” beautifully illustrates the branching form of a mature birch tree. Loosely drawn with informal, sketch-like linework, the tree is shown in the middle of winter, bare of leaves and white with frost. Surdo’s skillful placement of shadow illustrates the forking branches with incredible texture and effortless realism. The intricate play of light and dark is accentuated by the stark white background, a negative space that isolates the tree in space and time. Restricting the composition to only a portion of the tree trunk, Surdo accentuates the tree’s abstract form, lingering on areas of unusual shape or texture. Seeking to convey the strong emotional response elicited by his initial encounter with the tree, Surdo focuses on the tree’s sculptural form, contrasting the strong trunk...

French pencil drawing of tree, circa 1920. The artist's perspective lends a sense of upward movement to this piece, as the tree's branches seem t...

Secret Garden 18, 2021 black ink on paper 27 9/16 H x 39 3/8 W in. 70 H x 100 W cm The drawings signed by Alina Aldea show the meticulousness and perfection of microscopic observati...