Mary Montes is an Abstract Expressionist painter who fuses representation with abstraction. While studying fine art at Barry University and the University of Miami she developed a painterly style that accentuates her mastery in drawing with a lively application of line and color. The result is an aesthetic distinctively her own. As a woman painter, her sensitivity to the figure is beautifully melded with an emotive portrayal of her subject matter. In 2006, she would have the opportunity to continue her training at the Department of Art at the University of Miami with master painter, Brian Curtis and her art took a different direction. Although focused on classical drawing and painting, she soon began dabbling in more abstracted works, clearly influenced by the likes of Willem de Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn and Robert Rauschenberg whom she came to know in his later years. She continues to work under the mentorship of Curtis to this day. Montes' current work is primarily oil and pastel, incorporating watercolor into her large-scale abstract paintings. Her paintings capture the immediacy of color, while preserving a thoughtful drawing quality. Montes’ work has been exhibited in the Lowe Art Museum, College of Arts and Science at Miami University, Andy Gato Galleries, Museum of Contempory Art (North Miami), and private art shows in Miami Beach. Her most recent show was in December 2015 at the Spectrum Art Fair during Art Basel/Miami week.