Mary Calengor is known for her highly detailed realism painted in oil on linen and canvas.  There is amazing detail in her art along with an intuitive sense of how she captures the light on her subjects.  This painting is entitled, “Imperfect Beauty”.  Mary says of this painting:

I fell in love with these rustic vessels immediately and had them shipped from the Ukraine knowing they would be wonderful subject matter.  I also knew it would be a challenge and a test of my talents to recreate the 100 year old patinas and wear and tear that makes them so imperfectly beautiful.  This painting was a joy to paint from beginning to end.  It took many layers of paint to create the textures and colors that make up the surfaces and the work actually became quite detailed despite the rustic nature of the subjects.  The color palette is another reason why this painting is one of my favorite works, it is so warm, and the dramatic lighting brings out the nuances in each subject.  Small hints of green verdigris on the wires that surround each vessel add touches of complementary color.