Canvas Rebel Feature: Meet Mary Brooks
This article was published in Canvas Rebel on Sept 7, 2023
Hi Mary, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
While sometimes I feel a tinge of regret at not beginning on this path sooner, I realize I began at the perfect moment, simply because I was, without a doubt, “ready.” At a recent art show, someone asked me how long it took to paint a particular painting. I answered, “all my life,” an immediate response that perhaps sounded a bit cavalier. But it was the accumulation of experiences, unrelated jobs, relationships, and so on, that brought me to that finished painting and every other painting. I came to full-time painting later than most. I was an academic book editor and indexer for many years. I mastered late nights and attention to detail; I helped manage a home and family. Along the way, my creative side flexed its muscle in art classes and workshops and an occasional group show. Gradually, the art became more important than my “real job” and I gathered the courage to make a significant career change. Had I started on this path sooner, it would have been a different path but not necessarily a better one. Starting later was not an option.
Mary, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
At cocktail parties and every other social gathering, we’ve all been asked, “What do you do?” It was my goal for many years to answer, “I’m an artist.” I’m not an artist who says “All I’ve ever wanted to do is be an artist” or “I knew from the time I could hold a crayon that I would be an artist.” When I was young, say junior high school, all I wanted to do was go to journalism school, which I did. I didn’t become a journalist, but I had a long and steady career in academic publishing. There’s not a lot of room for creativity in that industry! But I always had a creative side that revealed itself in various ways. Over the years, I did art on the side, until finally I took the plunge. Now I say without reservation, “I’m an artist.” Period. I’m proud of that. I paint every day, although I find that administrative tasks (applying to shows, searching for residencies, photographing my art, maintaining a website, etc.,) are time consuming. But my mission is to create beautiful art and make it available to people to whom it speaks. My art has been described by some as “joyful.” So perhaps my mission is to spread joy.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My journey differs from that of many of my artist friends and acquaintances in that I’m older and I started painting full time later in life, after a whole different career. There are times, particularly when I’m in situations surrounded by those younger artists, when I feel cloaked in resilience! I’m a quite determined person and more often than not I have powered through whatever necessary. I became a certified yoga teacher at age 59 and a full-time painter at 60. But I do believe that resilience is a necessary trait in any endeavor, no matter who you are or what your story is.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The comedian Bill Maher is quoted as saying, “Ageism is the only ‘ism’ still tolerated.” I think many people might disagree with that statement, but I think there is truth in it. My goal, and therefore my mission, is to be the best painter I can be, and that means working hard every day. On top of that, my mission is to be taken seriously as an artist, which I believe is more difficult when you begin your journey later than most. I should add that I don’t believe age has so far held me back in any art-related capacity. But combatting ageism is a mission of mine in general. And if I can help in any way dispel various myths surrounding age, whether through art or any other way, I’m there.
