August 1, 2003 - Ojai Valley News - Ojai, California

"Digital art is art," says computer artist Mary Ogle, known as Maryo. "It's just another form of painting - another form of printmaking. The computer is one more creative tool for the artist to use." Trained in oil, Ogle has made the transition in the last five years to working for the most part directly on the computer. Her lively and colorful imagery is composed and finished on the computer and sold as limited edition prints.

A Florida native, Ogle grew up in Jacksonville. "I always wanted to be an artist," she says. "My mother always said I was was born with a pencil in my hand. I say that must have been painful for her." Ogle studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and then came west to go to the Art Center in Los Angeles. She moved to Ojai about three years ago because Los Angeles was "so much effort," and has grown to love Ojai's natural beauty.

When she lost her eyesight in one eye, the computer became her first choice as a medium. "I've learned to compensate, and still paint in oils, but working digitally is easier because I can zoom in for a closer look at what I'm doing." She is largely self-taught on the computer and until recently drew with a mouse in a program called CorelDraw then moved the picture to Photoshop to paint it. "I now have a graphics tablet which you draw on with a stylus (a kind of pen). Each pen stroke you make on the tablet is transferred to the screen. It's a much more natural way of drawing than using a mouse."

But, says Ogle, there is no shortcut for traditional training. "It really helped me to be a traditional artist first and I still go to life drawing classes. My drawing gives my work a kind of structure that it wouldn't otherwise have and I think that line is really important. She counts among her influences Gustav Klimpt, Egon Schiele and turn-of-the-century children's book illustrator Homer Pyle, "for their incredible use of line." While still studying at the Art Center and before she ever came to Ojai, she saw an exhibit of Ojai photographer Horace Bristol's depression-era work when he had been all but forgotten and loved his sensitivity to his subject matter.

As well as the figure, Ogle is drawn to landscapes and still lifes. Of her imagery, she says, "Water and reflections seem to resonate with me and often appear in my paintings. I don't necessarily consciously think about it when I'm painting - they often appear all on their own."

She sometimes refers to photos and sometimes uses drawings - especially for the figure. Her subjects are always familiar and very personal.

Lately she's been inspired by her friend Tracey Ryder, the publisher of Edible Ojai to create a series of food-related images. She pulls many images up out of her past. of her cool-looking painting of an iced tea glass and pitcher with lemon slices, she says, "I come from Florida, and to me, iced tea is a comfort food. Nothing else can quench your thirst in the hot humid atmosphere of the South like an ice cold glass of tea can."

She supplements her income as a fine artist with some commercial illustration and web site design.

Maryo's imagery is available as limited edition prints on paper or canvas. More work can be seen at her web site, maryostudio.com or call 640-9709 for more information.