American Idol - Mixed Media on Paper - 30" X 38.5"

Culbertson-Stark often uses portraits as metaphors. From her Chakra series, this portrait, in charcoal and acrylic, reflects notions of the sixth chakra - Ajna, often referred to as "the third eye". In chakra terms, the third eye is linked to heightened levels of perception,awareness,and intuition. This image regards processing an encounter in a world where veracity and verisimilitude often collide - and allowing one's true self to judge the difference.

Artist BIO

Mary Culbertson-Stark Known in the Pittsburgh region for her compelling images addressing life from the female perspective; Mary Culbertson-Stark has been creating visual narratives for almost five decades. A graduate of the University of South Carolina and the University of Pittsburgh, Mary credits early theater training at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as setting a solid stage for her individual style of expression. Artfully recreating stories and observations from her personal life and the lives of those she encounters; Mary embodies seemingly simple images of objects, women and landscape with a mystical, emotive spirit. Her image making process is rooted in drawing on which she expands using an application of mixed media overlays to form surfaces that are uniquely ethereal and enigmatic.