Mary-Louise Colouris was a printmaker, painter, and muralist, who, along with her husband, moved to Linlithgow in 1976 and opened her art studio on Strawberry Bank. Mary-Louise made an indelible mark on Linlithgow with her mural reflecting the heart and soul of Linlithgow Marches at Linlithgow train station in bold and vibrant colour, a trademark of Mary-Louise’s work. It can still be seen as you make your way up to Platform 1.
Mary-Louise was born in New York but spent her early years in Los Angeles where her father, George Coulouris, was a Hollywood actor of Greek descent. The Greek aspect of her heritage, through the rich colours of the Mediterranean, inspired her palette and widened her subject matter. She held several Greek government scholarships and held her last four exhibitions there.
She then taught for eight years in various locations in the UK including Scotland, and also Greece while she established herself as an artist.
From the 1980s, Mary-Louise won many prizes, scholarships, and residencies, including public art murals here in Linlithgow, the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and designed rugs for the new Scottish Poetry Library, a tapestry for Yale College, and watercolours for the House of Lords.
A prolific artist, Mary-Louise held many solo exhibitions in cities such as Athens, London, Edinburgh and Perth and her work can be found in public and private collections across the world including the Ashmolean Museum, New York Public Library, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
Mary-Louise initially studied at the Chelsea School of Fine Art, completing her three-year diploma at the Slade School of Fine Art. She went on to spent two years in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts after winning a French scholarship, and at Atelier 17 studied under master printmaker, Stanley William Hayter.
Mary Louise herself said “I am enthusiastic about people and what they achieve every day and what they have the potential to achieve. People figure strongly in my work, as they did in the European tradition, from Mantegna to Leger. Colour is essential to my way of working, as it communicates the emotional impact I want to achieve.” This is certainly true in the Marches mural here in Linlithgow.
Sources:
· Wikipedia
· Guardian Obituary
Images by Kayleigh Hirst.
Disclaimer: This article was written under the understanding that the sources of information are correct, but we apologise if that may not be the case; no offence is intended, we merely wish to share and celebrate the achievements of the individual.