'Biloxi Vietnamese Shrimper'

9x12 Acrylic

This Vietnamese Shrimper & his wife survived Katrina and were living on their boat. We were pleased to see each other, he cleaning off his boat & selling shrimp, we anxious to buy the shrimp but with nothing & nowhere to cook them. We had all lost so much but were grateful survivors attempting to restore our lives - Immigrants, part of the diverse community that makes up East Biloxi, our home.

'Dormi, Dormi, Piccolo Amore'

Acrylic

This painting survived Katrina! Mother & baby bring hope and remind us of new life through suffering. Time to rest now, be nurtured & be loved

'Cat Cora Iron Chef '

Acrylic

Initially this was part of the 'Chef' series but when I talked to Cat who grew up in Jackson Ms there was much empathy as she had witnessed firdt-hand the awful devastation on the Ms Coast where she had spent much time after Katrina with Chefs for Humanity which she founded. A charming Southerner she continues to raise awareness and help for the Coast.

'So Many Choices!'

Acrylic

My 'Chef/Foodie' observations reminded me that life goes on but but also making me even more appreciative of the volunteers who donated their time to 'feed' us on the MS Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina

'Sunshine & Hope'

Acrylic

Sun is plentiful, but slowly we are returning to the enjoyment of our gulf coast beaches.

'Altha's Truck in the backyard after Katrina, Water St. East Biloxi Ms Gulf Coast'

Acrylic

Under the debris in the backyard, my neighbour Altha's truck came to light! And early one morning as the sun filtered through the felled trees onto it, I dragged out my easel anxious to capture the 'beauty' in the midst of chaos.

'Washed up on Water St. East Biloxi Ms Gulf Coast'

Acrylic

This wonderful old green car had 'sprouted up' after Katrina, in the middle of all the rubble in a neighbour's garden - well where a garden used to be. My daughter Claire captured it & I had to paint it.

'Don't Look Back 2 - Look to the Future'

Acrylic

I started painting this a good few months after Katrina on a Peggi Kroll-Roberts workshop and realised that this was what I was trying to do - not look back but look to the future. At this time I always appeared to be behind my subjects and following their gaze! Are my paintings telling me something and reminding me?

'FEMA 'ITCH' & 'Artist's SCREAM!' with apologies to Munch

Acrylic, pen & ink & pencil

1 set of 2 canvasses 12 x 16 each

It was a beautiful morning to paint, the first respite all summer from the heat and outside my FEMA trailer (eventually received in May 06) my canvas was ready on my easel.

Then SHE arrived all 'Attitude & Power' - the 'FEMA 'ITCH', clipboard in large heavy hand! Was this yet another inspection, another 'interrogation', another intrusion of privacy, another demand for ID, another report - what? The joy was gone, this first painting depicts that day -the numbers & dates on the back of the trailer are IDs and records of Her visits.

The 'SCREAM" expresses all - the 'eye' of the storm watching & waiting, the depression moving in, descending. On the rear of our 'home', the FEMA trailer, the numbers and dates of yet other inspections by other inspectors recorded - propane gas, 'black box', the warnings - sewage pipes with cobalt blue sealant wrongly connected, the red fill, the lost year, life now - the SCREAM.

The day turned to one of anger & frustration resulting in these more primative creations but perhaps they express how thousands of others also feel on the Gulf Coast a year after Katrina.

'Peace, Perfect Peace!'

Acrylic

This is what I really wanted to do the day of 'intrusion'!

ABOUT the ARTIST
Scottish-born artist Mary-Pat Forrest or MP as she is also known, now hails from Biloxi Mississippi.Work and travels have taken her to many parts of the world providing wonderful inspiration for her landscapes and figurative paintings.Though primarily self-taught, she took every opportunity to attend local art schools, colleges and workshops.

Love and study of the arts was nurtured at an early age in the cultural environment of her home-town Edinburgh, Scotland. Tho' the Old Masters and the Impressionists influence her style of work, over the years well-known American Artists have inspired and challenged her. Her work has been exhibited, commissioned and collected in the USA and abroad.

An accident prevented MP from working for several years but she is now experiencing her 'renaissance'. Despite losing her home, studio and all its contents in Hurricane Katrina, she continues to paint - made possible in part through generous donations from people around the USA and grants from Mississippi Arts Commission, Andy Warhol Foundation and Sweet Arts, New York.