Portraits by Mary Beth | Mary Beth Paintings

PORTRAITS

Family is my favorite subject, but friends make it to my studio too.

Person in a dark suit and bow tie stands indoors near a doorway, adjusting a blue lapel.

Will Konko and grandfather Gower’s tux at Durham University, 2026. Painted 2026

Portrait painting of a smiling blonde woman with blue eyes on a light background

Ava Gower Williard This is her graduation portrait from me. She graduated and has a Masters from the University of Georgia - 2025. I did it from a compilation of snaps in 2026.

Smiling blonde woman in a white top and necklace, painted against a soft blue background.

Olivia Gower Williard. This is her graduation portrait from me. She finished at the U of Texas in 2025. I did it from a photo. Rachel provides plenty to choose from.

Boy in a red shirt sits in a grassy field near a small stream, looking thoughtfully ahead.

Julian is from a photo but, I think that I imagined the background from their ranch land. l think he was about age 8.

Person in blue shirt seated on a stool in a room with green walls, striped rug, and window

Olivia sat for her portrait in my studio on Timberwilde. She was patient but I finished it from a photo.

Boy sitting on a sailboat deck, wearing a blue shirt and shoes, with water and sail masts behind him.

Will ‘s picture was taken during a sailboat ride we had in Camden, Maine and I painted it the same year of 2014. This is probably one of the most successful of my paintings. Will is age 10.

Portrait painting of a smiling person with long dark hair in a gray sweater on a warm beige background

Dylan Marie is from a photo. She was painted about 3-20-2016 when we lived on Timberwilde. I say “about” because it sometimes takes days.

Smiling person with shoulder-length dark hair in a gray shirt against a soft outdoor landscape background

Julian’s painting is from a family trip to Africa. Finished 10-28-22.

Sepia-toned portrait sketch of a young person with short dark hair and a neutral expression

This black and white was done in a class in Houston before all the babies were born. It is done with a wipe out technique. The instructor (His name was Bruce Williamson) was very happy with this and suggested that I study with a portrait painter friend of his. I should have done so.

Painted portrait of a person with long brown hair and a blue-gray background.

Rachel was painted while we lived on Timberwilde in Houston, 2002.

Portrait of a person in a peach shirt against a yellow background, with a serious expression.

This is from a live model in the class in Houston in the late 80s.

Painted portrait of a person with short dark hair against a muted gray background.

This is another live model from the class in Houston in the 80s. I really enjoyed painting from life.

Two smiling people in a painted portrait, with a colorful cityscape in the background.

Morganne and Jefy Mathew were painted in August of 2023 from a photo from one of their trips somewhere.

Painted portrait of a smiling person with white hair and a white shirt on a dark background

Brenda June Sheraden, my sister, from a photo. Late 90’s. She passed away in the fall of 2026 at age 85.

Portrait drawing of a person with a raised hand, wearing a blue sweater and braid, on textured paper

Gillian is painted on the back of some other painting. This signal is to show she was accepted as a student at Oxford University.

Formal painted portrait of a man in a dark suit and tie, facing forward against a blue background

John Robert Miller. My oldest brother (12 years older). He finished Officers Training and was headed on a packed train toward San Diego when everyone on the train became ill with strep infection and rheumatic fever which infected his heart. There was no penicillin available though it was known to stop the virus. He was in a hospital in Marion, Il and very ill for over a year. Even with his illness, he lived a very productive life as a high school teacher and property investor. I feel sure that his illness had a lot to do with Mom’s early death at age 53.

This painting was done from life in the class I attended in Houston in the 1980s. The model wore a very interesting costume!

Portrait of a person in a dark shirt, facing forward against a plain dark background.

Brian George Williard done in about 1998. This was the wipe out method where the ground was all dark gray to start, then the features were wiped out from it.

Bride and groom standing together in a church, smiling at each other.

Beth and Bob wedding photo. I painted it from a photo by our best man, Harry Eaton. My brother, Mark, took many other photos but our little post office burned down and all were lost. This was Sept 6, 1959 in West Frankfort, Illinois. My mother, Nancy Miller, had died the year before but my father, Hilary, gave me away. Brenda was my maid of honor; John and Mark and their families were there. I painted this after we moved to our condo on Westcott. 2026.

Seven people posing by the Golden Gate Bridge with turquoise water in the background.

Susan Graham is our contact at Southern Illinois University. She is bottom right and this is her family. I almost blinded myself painting this. This was 2025 and the year SIU put our name on the Gower Translational Research Building on campus.

Smiling blond person in a blue shirt outdoors with a garden path and trees behind them

Olivia wanted the background to be the driveway where the grandchildren played so much-no girlie stuff. My favorite memory there is the kids were under the carport playing and I was watering the plants. My hand kept slipping, and I accidentally sprayed them every so often. Kids are so easy to entertain. This was a photo taken there in May, 2016.

Portrait of a smiling person in a white shirt, painted in soft colors with trees and greenery behind them

This is a rather unsuccessful painting of Bob in about 2000.

Portrait of a man in a striped tie seated by a car window, looking out at a rural landscape.

Matthew Sheraden, Brenda’s first grandson. Painted in 2016 from a photograph. I like the skin. I called it “Young man with a striped tie”

Person sitting cross-legged on a couch by a window, holding a tablet with a teal pillow beside them

This is Gillian Beth Konko who was visiting us while home from Oxford. March, 2025. She had lots to say.

Person playing a brown acoustic guitar on a blue couch, with a soft green background.

Will was in high school when I painted this but I changed him to look much younger. So this face does not really exist now.

Young woman smiling beside a door labeled “Oxford Playground Street gate”

Gillian Beth Gower Konko. She is pictured in front of Oxford Playhouse. It’s her first year at Oxford. Majoring in History and Politics but loving the performing arts

Portrait painting of a smiling man in a blue suit and striped tie on a muted blue background

Bob Gower. This painting is in the Founders Room at Communities In Schools Houston. They wanted a picture to hang. This would have been painted in about 2022.

Portrait of a smiling person with long auburn hair in a white top against a warm striped background

Ava G Williard, painted from a photo taken at Carrabas right after Ava, Olivia, and Gillian were confirmed at Chapelwood UMC in Spring 2015 - painted 2016

Smiling blonde portrait painting with blue eyes on a soft pastel background

Olivia Gower Williard, painted May 2016 from a photograph.

Two people sitting on rocks by a blue waterfront, smiling at the camera

Morganne and Jefy Mathew when they lived in Boston. Jefy was doing a fellowship at Harvard and Morganne was working as a pediatrician.

Smiling man in a blue shirt standing on a porch with red brick walls and white columns

Painting of Bob standing on the back porch of the Timberwilde house.

Person standing in front of an arched stone doorway on a tan building courtyard

Gillian Konko at Oxford University, about 2023.

Portrait of a person in a green shirt with a pink flower pin, painted in soft blue tones

My mother, Nancy Caroline Miller, painted from a photo in 2025.

Portrait of a smiling person in a navy dress seated on a white chair against a yellow and orange background

Gillian Konko, the daughter of Allison and Jeremy. This was done at the Timberwilde house.

Portrait of a smiling woman with auburn hair in a lavender top against a teal background

Gillian Konko, painted in 2025, from a photo in her youth . She was Jeremy’s mother, Gillian’s namesake, and Will’s grandmother Konko.

Portrait of a smiling person in a striped shirt and blue jacket against a textured teal background

Sandra, worked for us since about 2024. She is from Venezuela

Girl in a bright pink dress leaning on a railing in a green garden setting.

Gillian Konko, at the last formal at Oxford.

Fox in a London garden, painted from a photo in 2024

Final Version of Will Konko (see earlier version above) - finished 2025

Person sitting by a window, playing an acoustic guitar in a blue-toned room.

Dylan before she graduated from High School - painted 2023

Portrait of a person in a dark sweater against a warm-toned background, looking left with a calm expression

Bob Gower, painted in about 2020.

Portrait of a smiling blonde woman against a soft blue floral background

Ava in a painting I did a couple of years ago and have redone 3 or 4 times because I couldn't get her nose right. It was finished in 2026.

Two smiling people posing outdoors with white buildings in the background.

Painting of a model in art class.

Person posing on a red playground climbing frame against a blue sky and building backdrop

Gillian painted from a photo taken in 2018, in Copenhagen, Denmark

Woman in a dark dress seated at a grand piano with the lid open, eyes closed while playing.

Rachel Gower at her Grand Piano around 2015. This beautiful piano was lost in the Harvey flood. It floated in 4 feet of water.

Woman in a blue shirt sits in a brown armchair, reading a book with a relaxed expression.

Gillian Konko in approximately 2011.

Two children standing by a green hill and blue water under a cloudy sky

Gillian & Will in Camden, Maine - about 2014

Two smiling people in sunglasses stand outdoors with a park and fountain behind them.

Allison & Jeremy in Paris - painted from a photo in about 2000

Two smiling people in front of a blue sky with clouds, one in a red shirt and one in a white shirt

Allison & Jeremy in Camden Maine - painted from a photo taken by Will in about 2015

Woman in a cream dress with blue trim stands in a green landscape with houses and trees behind her.

My mother, Nancy Caroline, painted partly from a photo and partly from imagination in about 2022. The house looks a lot like the house Beth grew up in. The other building was also on the farm

Eliza and Nola Nelson painted for Sicily Dickinson's Birthday, from a photo taken on a trip to Naxos Greece in 2021, painted in 2024.

Two smiling people in front of a blue sky with white clouds, wearing red and white shirts.

Painting of a model in art class.