Artist Mary Stratton moves studios
Encaustic artist Mary Stratton moves to new digs
THIS PAST SUMMER, cold wax and oil painter Mary Stratton moved her gallery from the Taos Plaza, where she had been for the last three years, to Doña Luz Street, and into the former home of Substance, a women’s clothing boutique.
Moving during a pandemic was not ideal, but Stratton says she “had outgrown the plaza location and the opportunity presented itself.”
The new location allows for considerably more display and studio space, she said.
Her work is now hanging in the space which has been reimagined as a gallery.
Inspired by the skies, landscapes and hues of the Southwest, Stratton’s work is all about her surfaces: building layer upon layer of color and texture to create her abstractions.
Born and raised in Seattle, Stratton enjoyed careers in radio and magazine advertising sales, sales management and product design. She worked as a sales manager for a family-owned business in the Philippines and went on to spend over 15 years in real estate, in both Seattle and Sun Valley, Idaho.
“In 2009 I retired from the ‘real world,” she said, “and began to make the changes that led me to explore an interest in painting.”
She opened her first studio in Sun Valley in the spring of 2010, and three years later, relocated to Taos.
Along with her own paintings, she said she also enjoys creating commissioned pieces and welcomes all inquiries
Using wax – hot or cold – is known to be tricky, but Stratton has mastered the medium.
“Upon taking my first class in encaustic painting in 2009, I knew I had found my true artistic passion,” she said.
That passion for encaustic (hot wax) and more recently cold wax and oil painting shows no sign of abating.
“I continue to create bodies of work inspired by what I see in the skies, colors and landscapes of the Southwest,” she said.
Her new space in Taos allows her to paint on-site as well as greet visitors and collectors coming to see the work.
In addition to showing in her own gallery here in Taos, Stratton shows her work in Aspen, at Royal Street Fine Art.
The grand opening she had planned for the new gallery on Doña Luz Street is currently on hold “until our world is once again safe for such gatherings,” she explained.