Visual Language Magazine Contemporary Fine Art March 2014 Vol 3 No 3

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For the past 21 years, a serious right-sided tremor has limited Cross’s ability to hold a brush. Thus,
Cross paints with her fingers; whatever minimal brush strokes the artist employs are guided by a
prosthetic device. A documentary titled Q. Cross: The Painter behind the Portraits, on youtube, click
to view Documentary details her journey back to painting in the after-years of the tremor’s on-set.
The artist has also compiled a book, Poems of a Painter, Paintings of a Prayer, in which she speaks
of how she has come to deal with this physical challenge that she cannot change and, yet, has witnessed
a greater dream come out of what were initially tragic circumstances.
The simultaneous heartache and joy that Cross experiences daily is seen in her paintings – and it
is heard in the poems that she writes as an accompaniment to each of her works. The combined
presentation of painted image and printed word has enriched the meaning of her work.
The public is a telling barometer of the penetrating resonance of the artist’s work. Cross’s paintings
are regularly displayed by the Art Renewal Center Salon Exhibitions (where Cross is an ARC Associate
Living Master), click for ARC Masters Gallery the International Guild of Realism (where she
was awarded Best of Show in 2013), the American Society of Traditional Artists, the Salmagundi
Club, and the Allied Artists of America.
As many as 30,000 people a year also view Cross’s work at outdoor venues. Viewers who cannot
afford the originals are still enthusiastically pleased to own limited edition prints. Collectors who can
afford these multi-faceted jewels get to live with a palpable part of Cross’s personal vision, crafted
with her personal touch.
Mary Jane Q. Cross www.maryjaneqcross.com builds a body of memorable work in a studio, built by
her husband and hugged by New England’s quiet countryside, as she threads the fabric that mirrors
her own life into her work. Her quest is a worthy one.
The Contemplative 30 x 40 Finalist
and Honorable
Mention from
Art Renew Center Salon Exhibition
http://www.maryjaneqcross.com/
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