In this painting, a self portrait, Mary Lou Romney shows her creative, playful, curious, and eclectic style.

Mary Lou Stone Romney, painter of life...

​Mary Lou Stone Romney, born in St Anthony, Idaho, 1929, was well-known and recognized among artists and fine art galleries throughout Utah; she received national recognition as an emerging artist through the latter part of the 20th century. In her early college years, Mary Lou embraced creative techniques of master artists, and was particularly fond of studying with Utah artist LeConte Stewart at the University of Utah. After her marriage to Paul Romney in 1948, her priority became one of being a mother, bearing 7 children and doing all she could to fit art in between other life events. She participated in many creative activities during those family years, designing dramatic stage setups, writing plays, and serving as the creative art director of many community productions.  Well known for her signature stuffed animals, elves, and anthropomorphic creatures, Mary Lou sewed ingenious creations: everything from dinosaurs to gorilla suits, or African Maasai warriors to "flying purple people eaters." Mary Lou’s desire to improve her talents led her to graduate from an artist's correspondence course in illustration. This she felt she could do, and still care for her family. Although she previously studied in oil painting only, the emphasis in this course expanded her exposure to new mediums and techniques.

As her children grew up and left home, there was finally an opportunity for Mary Lou to consider continuing her education. She enrolled in a BFA program at the University of Utah in the late 1970's, and studied under many professors who helped shape and refine her skills and interests: Alvin Gittins, Robert S. Olpin, Nate Winters, Ed Maryon, and Lennox Tierney all had influence in her coursework. Interested in the interaction between Eastern and Western cultures in art, Mary Lou pursued this comparison as her thesis for an MFA degree at Utah State University in the 1980's where she studied under Harrison Groutage and Gaell Lindstrom.

Robert Olpin writes this description of Mary Lou Romney and her work:
   "This sensitive painter of powerful flower, landscape, and portrait depictions… One of Salt Lake City's most effective and active art community organizers and participants, Mary Lou has also been the creator of some of Utah's most striking exhibition entries in recent years. After completing a Master of Fine Arts degree, Mary Lou established her own studio in Salt Lake City. Also, a fine teacher, she uses her knowledge of both the Western and Eastern traditions to further her work in the classroom and studio."

In the August 1988 issue of the "American Artist Magazine" Mary Lou was featured as one of "six emerging artists" chosen in a nationwide talent search conducted in coordination with The Greenwich Workshop. In the article, we read: "In making our selection of the six emerging artists, we evaluated the quality of the artwork submitted as well as each individual's potential for further artistic growth." This potential was certainly manifest in Mary Lou's prolific production through the 1990's as she created hundreds of paintings, drawings, etchings, paper cuttings, and many experimental works with paper folding, rice paper, and other new and unusual media in her studio.  She also taught for several years during this time as an adjunct art faculty in the University of Utah Art Department.  She maintained a private studio building at her home, where she worked and taught students in private lessons.  

Mary Lou had the opportunity to travel to Taiwan when her youngest son Ray was completing a missionary experience there and had the option of traveling home with family members. She and her daughter Becky, who had studied Mandarin, decided to take advantage of the opportunity, and spend some time studying art while on the trip.  She learned first-hand about paper cutting, and brush painting.  Returning from abroad, and because of her increasing interest in Chinese and Japanese art techniques, she found sources for rice paper, brushes, ink, and opaque water colors. She became acquainted with Chinese artist Ning Yeh PhD, author of The Art of Chinese Brush Painting, who was establishing an art supply business in California.  Their collaboration proved very helpful in allowing Mary Lou to increase her practice of including these distinct brush strokes in her art work, often blending beautiful broad strokes with a "happy dot brush" whilst adding detail with Staedtler watercolor pencils, a medium she also enjoyed using in her botanical illustrations.  Mary Lou organized the Ching Hai Oriental Painting Society in Salt Lake City. Many of the paintings she created have a blend of traditional Western painting styles, and new applications of Asian influence.  Sometimes subtle, or overtly, the traditions run into each other as a plant illustration might develop a root system pattern that resembles a paper cutting; or an illustration of an orchid will have her red "chop" signature on it, printed from the carved marble chops she acquired with a Chinese version of her name engraved upon them. Dipped in special red ink, they make a striking signature, and symbolic gesture toward amicable relations between otherwise incongruous art techniques.

Mary Lou did leave the peace and production of her studio for a couple of years in the mid 1990's to serve as a missionary with her husband, Richard Paul Romney in the Bronx New York Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She had always wanted to have a missionary experience, and this provided unique ways for her to serve in a very diverse and needy community. She taught personal and group organ and piano lessons to young and old who were interested. Her husband led choirs as well, and they spent much time and energy visiting with and supporting the needs of many people from around the world who filled the congregations in a rather rough part of New York City. She did enjoy outings to the botanic gardens in the area, and was able to take a little break visiting a dear childhood friend who had a place on Deer Island, New Brunswick.  She could not resist creating a few paintings while there, one rare painting of a gull skirting along the water in particular, rare, because she did not often paint fauna. That painting has become one of her most popular, with beautiful reflective ripples and waves.  

During her career, Mary Lou painted regularly. She had always been known to wear glasses, but she was able to have eye surgery, which greatly improved her vision. Some of her painting techniques changed a bit after that, as she saw things differently. She also developed macular degeneration, which began to make some of her vision difficult, so even though her focus was improved, there were alterations in the way she saw her subject as she painted. Even with that limitation, she still immersed herself in art projects, and enjoyed her involvement in the Utah Watercolor Society. She served on the Board of Directors, and as President of the Society in 1989 and 1990.  Her membership continues posthumously as a signature status, the highest level of membership, for her extensive involvement and participation in the art community.  She and her studio were featured in the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies Annual Show, hosted by the Utah Watercolor Society. She regularly participated in gallery showings, such as the Springville Museum of Art, the Tivoli Gallery, the Bountiful-Davis Art Center, and The Finch Lane Gallery. In particular, the Walter P. Cottam Visitor Center gallery at Red Butte Gardens is well-known and recognized for her beautiful wildflower drawings etched into sandstone slabs, along with a sego lily fountain in the center courtyard.

One thing that must be mentioned in this brief overview of a very productive life is the miracle that Mary Lou could paint at all.  She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, and other debilitating diseases that could have kept anyone from picking up a paintbrush. As a faithful person, she believed that God could bless her efforts through her faith in Jesus Christ, and the Priesthood power that was used to give her blessings. At one time she was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, and was losing the ability to grasp with her hands. After being administered to by elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, she remarked that during this blessing, she was pleading for the use of her hands. She said that as the words of the blessing were pronounced upon her head, she felt a sensation of strength return to her hands. Mary Lou was able to resume her work.  She painted against the odds, and continued even though at times her body struggled. Some years later, she began to notice that her thumbs were not working right. They would bend outward instead of inward, and prevented her from holding on to the brush again. Her ability to play the piano was also diminished by this. She visited an orthopedic surgeon who designed a special brace just for her hands that kept the thumbs in place, yet allowed enough flexibility to do the art work she wanted so badly to complete. Her final paintings were as good as ever, even with these debilities and afflictions.  Ever the supportive grandmother, Mary Lou was in Huntsville Alabama to enjoy a performance of a granddaughter when she suddenly collapsed. Emergency efforts to revive her were only partially successful.  She had a ruptured vein in her esophagus, which bled so quickly that organ failure ensued within hours, and she passed away on 1 April, 2003.

Mary Lou's art work can be found in public and private collections throughout North America. An effort to archive her work began after her husband passed away in 2017.  Paul Romney's handiwork is manifest in nearly every frame and matt, as he worked through the years to support Mary Lou's artistic efforts. Paul passed away on the second day of September, 2017. As per his instruction, the family trust is focused on sharing the story of Mary Lou's marvelous and varied works of art. The numerous works in the trust collection are currently housed in the Romney Place Gallery near Rexburg, Idaho, just a short distance from Mary Lou's birthplace.  Her unique teaching methods, her techniques, and her artwork are a legacy to be shared with her posterity, and all who are interested in how she painted life.