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Whether with paint on canvas or a friendly chat in person, San Antonio artist Mary Louise Lopez always spread love and showcased the beauty of the human spirit.
Mary Louise was a gifted artist in drawing, painting, sculpting, and batiking.
The subjects of many of her paintings are indigenous communities of Texas, Mexico, Central America, and South America, where she often travelled and befriended many locals.
Mary Louise, who passed away in November of 2022, portrayed the pride and strength of indigenous Latinos with great affection and care, said Irene Peche, a close family-friend.
“She sought to capture their dignity and the work ethic by which they lived. There is an honesty in the depictions of her subjects that captures reality, beauty, and hardship without sympathy,” Irene said. “These characteristics mirror the artist and how she lived. Her affectionate nature, love of learning, and generosity are remembered by those she touched.”
A Foundation of Love and Helping
Mary Louise became a pianist at a very young age.
But performing wasn’t her only early skill. She also was adept at helping people.
Mary Louise spent several of her teen years with a church youth group, encouraging other youth, volunteering in work camps, and serving as a church organist – making countless friends along the way, Irene said.
For Mary Louise, her faith was the basis for her life and affected everything she did.
The Gift of Teaching
Mary Louise also valued education.
She earned her bachelor’s degree at Trinity University in San Antonio, receiving a scholarship. She also volunteered for her church for two years to repay her college scholarship.
Mary Louise also valued the education of others.
She became a kindergarten teaching assistant in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, then returned to San Antonio and earned a teaching job here.
As Mary Louise taught and mentored students, she was inspired to go back to school to get a master’s degree in education at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
She continued teaching for several years in the Harlandale Independent School District at Columbia Heights Elementary School and San Antonio Independent School District at Dorie Miller Elementary School.
Mary Louise was even chosen as one of the first teachers to work in bilingual education.
When bilingual materials were hard to find, Mary Louise was inspired to write stories and songs in Spanish for her students.
Mary Louise was a creative and dedicated teacher, making a strong effort to work with her students who needed extra help at every opportunity, even after school.
Teaching was her main job, but as Mary Louise used more art in her classroom, her interest in it began to grow.
Following Her Passion for Art
Mary Louise began practicing several forms of art, including pen and ink drawings, watercolor birds, and woodblock prints.
Her main interest became batik, which is decorating cloth using wax and dye.
During this time, Mary Louise started to go to art shows on weekends.
At one show in Austin, she met a sculptor who encouraged her to try stone sculpture. The sculptor invited Mary Louise to his studio and give her some stone samples to take with her.
Turning out some pieces that would totally surprise him, she thoroughly loved working on sculpture, which she created all handmade, with no power tools ever used.
Following this, Mary Louise added more forms to her artists’ palette.
She created many stained-glass designs, conte, charcoal, some wood sculpture, furniture, larger watercolor and acrylics.
But it was the subject of her art – not the type – that really captivated Mary Louise.
A Kinship with Latino Culture
As Mary Louise expanded her art skills, she also became very interested in Latino culture and the heritages of the people of Southwest Texas and Mexico.
This would prompt her to travel to Central and South America.
Mary Louise appreciated and interacted with the people of Central and South America.
Everywhere Mary Louise went, she made it a point to seek out the artist doing the creation of his/her work and would engage them in conversations and praise their work.
Mary Louise once insisted on buying a young girl’s weaving piece.
While the father said the weaving wasn’t very good, to Mary Louise it was a treasure and she had to buy it and support the girl.
Mary Louise had a wonderful time enjoying the conversations and smiles interchanged of the people that were too often ignored or disrespected by tourists.
Meeting and speaking with the locals were Mary Louise’s favorite parts of her trips, she felt they were proud people doing what made them proud of their talent and their culture.
A website of her artwork features indigenous people in their social and cultural context.
“Here are a people with a sense of strength, pride and serenity in themselves and their heritage. They represent the best that is in all of us,” according to the website.
Leaving a Legacy Through Advocacy and Cancer Research
Mary Louise’s art has been featured in corporate and private collections around the world.
A San Antonio hospital included her painting of a mother and child for their Newborn Intensive Care Unit. The Ronald McDonald organization commissioned her for a poster commemorating Hispanic Heritage Week. And she was among eight artists featured by the U.S. Dept of Labor Women’s Bureau for a specially commissioned poster.
In 2022, Mary Louise died of pancreatic cancer.
After spending her life giving to others through church volunteer work, teaching, and art, the name of Mary Louise Lopez continues to help people.
All profits from the sale of her artwork –available at mlopezart.com– go toward cancer research.
“Mary Louise left a legacy of art, friendship, strength, and love for her fellow man,” Irene said.
It’s crucial for Latinos to get screened for cancer to ensure the health of themselves and their families. Latinos often have lower cancer screening rates than their peers, despite high rates of certain cancer types and/or worse outcomes among others, due to systemic and structural inequities in access to healthcare, according to a Salud America! resource.
Mary Louise fought hard during her cancer battle and would encourage Hispanic family, friends and loved ones of all races to take every opportunity to get checked for cancer.
“You have the power to help yourself survive this disease,” Irene said.
By The Numbers
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Big Excuses
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This success story was produced by Salud America! with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The stories are intended for educational and informative purposes. References to specific policymakers, individuals, schools, policies, or companies have been included solely to advance these purposes and do not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation. Stories are based on and told by real community members and are the opinions and views of the individuals whose stories are told. Organization and activities described were not supported by Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and do not necessarily represent the views of Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
