Mark St. Mary Primary Medium: Photography Keywords: Abstract, Organic, Urban, Pattern, Nature

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Artist Statement
When I first started taking photographs as a child, it was because I could — I had a camera and it was fun to see what came back from the developer. I wasn't exactly sure why, but some of the early photos I took pleased me more than others. Since that time I have been seeking not only that pleasure, but the reason it exists. I find myself regularly drawn to the visual exploration of my surroundings; the repetition of patterns, the juxtaposition of colors, the interplay of line and form throughout.
During these explorations, I have come to recognize that there is an ephemeral quality to even the most solid of objects. Surfaces are in constant flux, whether it is from the effects of man or nature, or the elusive play of light. Nothing will ever be the same as it was the moment a photograph was taken. I see my photographs as an attempt to capture those moments when ordinary subjects have become extraordinary.























Artist Bio
Mark St. Mary is an accomplished photographer who has formal training in floriculture and holds a Masters in biology with an emphasis in restoration ecology. In addition, he is a professional landscaper and carpenter whose other means of artistic expression are restoring period houses and designing and building custom furniture.

His passion for natural materials and for design began at an early age. He began serious gardening at age eight, and age nine, he bought his first camera—a Kodak 126 Instamatic with “close up” mode—by selling greeting cards door-to-door. From this first camera, he quickly moved to an Argus C3 and then to Minolta 35mm SLR, primarily developing and printing his own black and white work. The majority of the images currently for sale were shot with a Canon A620 digital camera. None of his prints are digitally altered beyond standard darkroom techniques of cropping, brightness and minor contrast adjustment.

As an amateur photographer for 36 years, he began to show his work for the first time in 2007. Throughout this time, his independent photographic work has been in three areas: studies of pattern, color, and botanicals. He currently lives with his wife, Marcia, two dogs and a very noisy cat in their 1890's house at the edge of downtown New Haven, Connecticut.

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