Although Georgian artist Marie Hamby was inspired to draw as a child, it wasn’t until she was an adult that she picked up her first paintbrush. Marie hasn’t stopped painting since, and expresses her love of animals through thick, texturized strokes of a palette knife. Her medium of choice? Oil on canvas.
“I am thrilled to paint,” Marie said. “I love, love, LOVE it!”
With a country-blue sky and wheat-colored landscape, Mothers and Daughters is the epitome of a family outing on a sunny day. (Except THIS family is made up of geese!)
Heavily-applied paint makes each individual goose feather ruffle realistically, while the lovely purple and blue shadows beneath them offer solidness and shape. A wash of yellow in the dusty skyline and golden field, and among the bodies of the geese, tells me sunset is rapidly approaching.
As shadows grow longer, the geese remain completely unaware of their delicate loveliness, and the way the light hits them just perfectly.
This next bird is quick on its feet as we watch it Take a Step closer to a potential dinner beneath the shifting waters. A long beak gives this bird access to the most unreachable meal, and its keen eye is glued to the lap of the waves, scouring the bed of sand for the slightest movement.
This painting’s mix of teal and brown colors are very inviting, and seem just as calming as the rhythmic waves themvelsves. Perhaps this tranquility comes from seeing simple animals find joy and self-worth in the smallest of things. After all, who doesn’t enjoy the splash of water beneath their feet?
Last but not least, there’s no need for therapy after looking at the peaceful scene in Group Session, below. These lambs are anything but sheepish as they boldly look straight at us.
The texture Marie puts into the painting makes the sheep’s wool appear rightfully bushy and heavy, but what is truly stunning about this painting are the deep layers of background and color. Marie exquisitely captures the look and feel of autumn in the crisp fall colors and enclosing darkness.
Although I never grow tired of viewing Marie’s inspired animal paintings, her still life, landscapes and architecture paintings also possess captivating character and quality. Take a look!