Mary Holmes

If you visit the artist Mary Holmes at her studio on the top of a mountain near Santa Cruz, you may see dogs (Annabanana and Demmie) Blackie the cat, Ginger and Calvin (two of the half dozen horses), many goats, four peacocks, brilliantly white feathered Japanese Chickens, and maybe even sister Sara. When we arrived, having obeyed the ‘Yield to Unicorns’ sign at the top of the drive, we found Mary finishing the first wash/sketch of the painting of ‘Judith with the Head of Holofernes’. This would be the central external element to her altarpiece that would explore the various Aspects of Love. I said that it was an amazing beginning. With Judith holding a sword and a head dripping blood, it seemed to me a unique way of approaching the subject of Love. Mary responded with a bit of mischievous glee beneath her words “Sometimes things don’t always work out as we’d planned.”

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