Mary Stebbins
“The Light Within”
In our physical world there is what we can see on the outside when we look at a face, or an animal, a tree or a mountain. But what we cannot see is what lies within, the essence. You could call it the soul, or the light. It is that light within that I try to capture in my paintings.
I grew up in northern California. My childhood memories are exploring the wild hills nearby. Nature was and is the place where I am most at home, and hopefully my landscapes and animals reflect that love. I grew up with a father and mother who were both gifted artists. With their encouragement I learned early on the joy of artistic creation.
I came to Canada in 1973 to get a teaching credential at Simon Fraser University. I did my student teaching in Vernon and there I still live. For many years as a mother and teacher, I had little time for my own art. My creative energy went into developing an environment for encouraging the artist in the children I taught.
After retirement, I had time to devote to two loves—travel and painting. I preferred travelling to out of the way places where people live close to the earth—Tibet, Africa, Mongolia, Nepal. It was the faces of the people I met that became the subject for many of my paintings. I believe every human being has a story. I search for their expression, the story in their eyes, the line of the lips, the light on a cheek. I also paint people close to home, my friends and family. Each painting feels like a miracle, that slowly from a blank canvas a person emerges and takes on a life of his or her own. And while that person has changed, grown older, or perhaps is no longer alive, something of their life remains through the painting.
