Art of Rural Life - Gallery of Oil Paintings by Mary Mol

“Painting My Dreams”
By Mary Mol
“I’ve worked hard getting to this part of my life! God has been good to me through so many trials and tribulations. As hard as life can be, some parts linger like music in your soul-simple. Farm machinery and old barns still make me homesick for mountains and open spaces.

My family was mostly farmers and ranchers in the mountains of Montana and Wyoming. Childhood there is brief and busy spent helping with livestock and crops. Kids were expected to help eke out a living and help raise the other young’ins. My hands remember what plow lines feel like and the kind of music that saddle leather makes herding cows. And the endless inside tasks; meals, dishes, laundry, and cleaning! I loved to draw as a kid but chores didn’t leave much time except in the cold blue days of winter.

Romance with its promises of easier paths tempted me to marry very young. “Easy,” like fragile mountain wildflowers is a brief thing! Kids come rather quickly and sometimes, husbands leave… Too soon, all alone, I was raising a family and struggling to put food on the table! My hands were busy every waking hour; changing diapers, making meals, doing housework, and holding jobs. Experience is a stern teacher! Sometimes, between figuring out where the next meal would come from and my jobs, my mind would wander free…some day I’d paint or write while sitting on a mountain top taking in the view and eating ham and cheese sandwiches…But there was just no time or extra money for hobbies. There was time to play board games, go fishing and camping and to laugh. Those things didn’t cost much. We ate a lot of fish and made a whole lot of memories! If you can’t laugh at yourself, you won’t survive. When they got old enough, the kids found jobs to help out.

At 74, I’ve finally caught up with my elusive daydream mountain...in time to taste those sandwiches and a big slice of just desserts! For five years now, I’ve put lots of mountains on canvas to keep that itchy old habit of “busy” content! I enjoy selling my work and even winning blue ribbons. God has blessed me with a new husband and a new life leaving the hard times with gentler memories. My kids, living creations, are the gold that eluded me so early! My greatest pleasure? Being asked to paint things for my kids’ churches. Giving back through exhibits and donations brings such joy!”