Mary Rockcastle – Greece Athena

It may be hard to make a living as a working artist-----but that's not going to stop Mary Rockcastle. She's a senior at Greece Athena High School----and she has big dreams.

This painting isn't just a work of art---it's a work of hope and healing. The artist is an equestrian. Her horse Roy died suddenly last fall. Mary Rockcastle worked out her loss on a four by six canvass.

"I can look back at things when I had him and how important to me he was then, that I can still portray that now in my work, I'm happy that I'm capable of doing that,” says Mary. "The equine form is very beautiful and that's what I've always thought is the most eloquent form so I've always been inspired to draw horses."

Mary's dedication to her art is well-known among her peers and mentors at Greece Athena High School.

"It's uniquely her own,” says Greece Athena art teacher Julia Mullane. “That's very important for artists, for young students to develop. To have a style that is their own. I could go anywhere in the world and I'll look at a painting and say, that's Mary Rockcastle's."

"The best part of painting is when something doesn't come out like you thought it would, but comes out 10 times better than you thought it would be," says Mary.

Mary's work has already been on display---at RIT, at Village Gate---and at Greece Athena. She's long known she wants to be an artist---and has got her eye on some of the best art schools in the country.