I am an enthusiastic gardener and Mother Nature is full of amazing textures, colors, shapes and patterns. I have always been drawn especially to the complexities, beauty,
and specificity of flowers. No two are alike, even from the same variety. They are my subject and inspiration.

I aim to capture an immersive experience in each painting that envelops the viewer in my work, my vision of the blooms, the secrets they have to share. So real, they’re unreal, the work compels you to reach for a touch, or lean in for the scent of the bloom.

I work in watercolors to gain the transparency of oils and vibrancy of acrylics and the beguiling nature of water; an attempt to control the uncontrollable. The combination is a
viewing intimacy; my pieces are luscious, inviting and vibrant.

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Mary Lyn

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Biography

Based in Portland, Oregon, Mary Lyn Gough is a fine artist who creates large-scale, vibrant botanical watercolor paintings. Painting professionally for over 30 years, Gough holds several degrees, including a

 

Fine Arts degree from Chico State where she specialized in watercolors. Her creative process is deeply connected to nature. She personally plants the seeds, tends to the plantlets, and photographs her home garden blossoms in every phase to use as a precise reference.

 

Harkening back to the historic botanical illustrations of the 1800s, Gough’s work bridges traditional structural precision with dramatic modern scale. She deliberately works with watercolors to harness the unique transparency of oils, the rich intensity of acrylics, and the fluid, unpredictable nature of water.

 

Her process involves layering techniques like wet-into-wet washes and dry-brush work on heavy, 400-pound archival paper, which creates a distinct deckled edge when float-mounted. A signature characteristic of her work is the use of deep, saturated contrast backgrounds, which serves to intensify the vibrant, lifelike quality of the flower petals.

 

Parallel to her studio practice, Gough is an educator with three decades of teaching experience. Today, she shares her expertise in foundational botanical watercolor methods with artists of all skill levels. Her immersive, multi-day workshops focus on mastering light, shadow, value, and dimensional petal textures. She regularly instructs community workshops at regional venues like the Oregon Society of Artists, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, the Alberta Street Gallery classrooms, and the Eastside Jewish Commons.

 

Gough showcases her art across the Pacific Northwest. She frequently exhibits at regional events like Portland’s annual Art in the Pearl Fine Arts Festival, NW Marine Art Works, and the Wild Arts Festival. Her work is also represented in regional galleries, including the Alberta Street Gallery in Portland, the Fairweather House and Gallery in Seaside, and the Moon River Art Gallery in Battle Ground, Washington. Through her immersive floral portraits and educational outreach, she invites viewers to pause, explore the secret complexities of nature, and intimately connect with the sensory life of flowers.