Biography

Mary Tapp is a Pacific Northwest painter whose work draws inspiration from the region’s shifting atmospheres, coastal landscapes and the interplay of light and shadow. Working in mixed media, she creates paintings that balance subtle abstraction with quiet references to land and sky. Her compositions often emerge through layered mark making, soft tonal transitions and a meditative approach to surface.

Tapp has exhibited throughout the region, and her work is held in private collections across the United States. Her practice is rooted in observation and the emotional resonance of landscape, exploring how memory and environment shape one another. She is known for her thoughtful restraint, creating paintings that reveal their depth through nuance rather than detail.

STATEMENT

My work is centered on the experience of place, particularly the quiet, spacious moments found in the natural world. I am drawn to the subtle transitions of light, the softness of distant horizons and the sense of calm that settles over a landscape. These impressions guide my work more than any specific location.

I build my paintings in layers, allowing them to shift and evolve over time. Through mark making, erasure and the gradual accumulation of tone, I search for a balance between form and atmosphere. My intention is to create work that invites reflection, offering viewers a moment of stillness and connection. Each piece is both an echo of places I have known and an opening for the viewer’s own experience.