Mary Balcomb – Student Work

Author Mary N. Balcomb (Sergei Bongart, Nicholai Fechin, William F. Reese, Robin-Robin: A Journal) was born April 29, 1928, in Mass, Michigan. After high school, from 1946-1948 she attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where she met her husband-to-be, Robert Balcomb.

The class she valued the most, and which had an effect on her for the rest of her life, was Quick Sketching—how to get the essence of the subject on paper very quickly. Below are ink/pastel drawings done in that manner. One can tell that by this young age, she was already a prodigious talent.

Mary died April 5, 2013. Her lengthy career included oil and watercolor painting, illustration, etching, interior design, architecture, and writing five books. She was also the founder of the Children’s Art Center Foundation in Seattle, featuring immersive art programs at the annual Bumbershoot Festival.