Mary Staunton, née Kenny, felt privileged to have been born and reared in such a beautiful place as Westport. To wake up every morning to the magnificent view of Croagh Patrick. To smell the trees, wild flowers and grass on her way to school. The sights, sounds and smells of a rural setting, surely one is forever moulded by an environment such as this.
As a child she was encouraged by her father to paint and draw in whatever medium was to hand, usually pencil and charcoal in those days. Indeed art was no stranger in her home. She spent many happy hours rooting through old copper etchings, glass negatives, old paintings and drawings belonging to her father and other family members which had gathered dust and cobwebs in their ‘junk room, to get lost among those treasures was her delight. Art is very much in evidence in the Kenny/Kelly families, be it expressed through painting, photography, architecture, writing, music or woodturning.
Painting in oils is her preferred medium, Mary loves the smell and malleability of it. She also paint in acrylic and on silk. Mary finds pen and wash sketching a great medium for outdoor work. She doesn’t follow a theme, she just paint as the mood or subject presents itself. Coming from Westport, Croagh Patrick features a lot in her work. Mary’s subjects are wide ranging from little villages nestled into the hillsides, voluptuous nudes, to street scenes of “old Galway” her adopted home. Mary received her formal training in art from the Paint Box School Galway and Fran McGann of the Gort Painting School. She exhibits very successfully every year with the Paintbox and with Galway Art Club, one of the oldest art clubs in Ireland. Mary has participated in group exhibitions in the Linenhall, Castlebar, the Customs House Studios in Westport and Galway City Museum. Mary was privileged to have her paintings accepted by CROI (West of Ireland Heart Foundation ) for their Christmas cards for 2006 and 2007. Mary dedicating this exhibition to the memory of her late father, Charles Kenny, who encouraged and inspired her. The opening reception will take place on Friday October 3 at 6pm
