Date: 09/30/04
Section: ThisWeek

Self-taught artist, cartoonist turns to portrait work /
Lawton captures subjects' essence in whimsical way 
By ARLENE NISSON LASSIN

Houston Chronicle Correspondent
 

SELF-TAUGHT cartoon artist Mary Lawton , 46, has made a living tickling people's funny bones with her smart-humored cartoons, illustrations and drawings.

Working steadily as a freelance cartoonist and illustrator since 1983, she has taken art classes and taught art classes at the college level, but prides herself in being self-taught and honing her craft by following her own instincts.

Preferring to create art with whimsy and humor, she has been published nationally in various newspapers and magazines, including The New Yorker, Houston Press, Ms. Magazine and a regular cartoon feature called "In the Wild," in New Moon Magazine, a children's periodical published in Duluth, Minn.

A resident of Houston for 10 years, she recently has focused on oil painting, and specializing in family and individual portraits using her trademark humorous cartoon characters.

Personalizing the cartoons she paints with portrait subjects' distinct features, she has created an unusual niche. She commands from $1,000 to $1,500 per portrait.

Busy with two young children, Jake, 7, a second-grader, and Sam, 5, who's in kindergarten, both at Travis Elementary, she works on her art projects at her own pace from her in-home studio on Harvard Street in the Heights. Most of her business comes from word-of-mouth recommendations.

Her art can be viewed on her Web site at www.marylawton.com. Lawton 's published cartoon art is also on display at www.cartoonbank.com, a site run by The New Yorker where cartoon artists can display their work for sale.

She also has her own line of greeting cards available for purchase, blending her distinctive art and humor. These are available at www.nobleworksinc.com.

"I have been drawing for as long as I can remember," Lawton said. "I know I have been cartooning since I was in the third grade. I first started publishing cartoons beginning in 1983 while I was juggling dual careers as a chef and an artist.

"I always loved to work with my hands and keep my hands busy, so the two careers were a natural for me."

Chef's apprentice

Born in New York, Lawton moved to the Boston area in the early 1980s. She served as an apprentice for chefs in various French restaurants, and opened a catering company, The Modern Food Co., while teaching cartooning and art at De Cordova Museum School and the Boston Architectural Center.

"I cooked by day, working my way up to chef in various restaurants," she said, "and I did my drawing at night. I never thought of giving up my art. I loved cooking and I loved art. I enjoyed doing both."

After moving to Berkeley, Calif., she continued publishing cartoons and illustrated a book, Bette's Diner Pancake Handbook, which came out in 1994.

Shortly afterward, she and her husband, Graeme Mardon, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, moved to Houston.

In 1998, she was commissioned to illustrate another book, Hip Mama Survival Guide, by Ariel Gore, which was published in 1998.

Shortly before that, she began painting in oils, creating images that feature cartoon characters but are more sophisticated than caricatures.

"I have always liked painting and drawing people," Lawton said. "I am very people-oriented and I make sure each character looks like a specific person.

"The portraits I do also look a lot like my brand of cartoon characters, so it is basically an extension of cartooning for me."

For the first few years in Houston, Lawton kept busy doing catering work whenever it came her way while continuing to develop her art. She also gave cooking lessons out of her Heights home.

She now focuses on continuing to get her cartoons published and taking on commissioned portrait art. She is also illustrating another book, which she plans to continue as well.

"I like my characters to look quirky and unique," she said. "I am chronically inspired and constantly working. I love the excitement my paintings generate. People usually laugh because I capture the essence of my subjects but in a whimsical, unusual way. I really enjoy that part of what I do, amusing people."

Subtle details

Anna Eastman, another Heights resident, purchased Lawton 's first family portrait. Eastman subsequently used the artwork for her holiday card and fielded numerous inquiries and referrals for Lawton .

"Mary does fabulous renderings of her subjects that are fun and playful, but that contain really personalized, subtle things about them," Eastman said.

"For example, in our family portrait, she captured small details about us such as the color of our azaleas and my son's favorite Birkenstock sandals and my daughter's favorite rubber frog boots. It is really very special because of that." 

MARY LAWTON

Age: 46

Occupation: Freelance cartoonist and illustrator

Community connection: Resides in the Heights

Fast fact: Her work has been published in The New Yorker, Houston Press, Ms. Magazine and New Moon Magazine.

Quick quote: "I am chronically inspired and constantly working. I love the excitement my paintings generate."