Biography
Born in San Bernardino and raised on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Mary-Austin found inspiration in the California landscape at an early age. The Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design took her inland to Los Angeles where she and her husband Scott Fajack are currently long-time residents of the Echo Park district in Los Angeles (their homes for the last 14 years have bordered on Elysian Park land) where they are active members of both the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park and the Echo Park Historical Society. They also spend many weekends at their desert cabin in Twentynine Palms, CA.
Klein has developed a following of art collectors for her detailed realism with a painterly style documenting natural landscapes. Through her signature small-scale paintings, landscapes become dense with a sense of place, be it a vast desert expanse or a bungalow studded urban scene in Los Angeles. Her paintings are landscape portraits and detail is key to capturing the life within the scene.
Mary-Austin Klein has exhibited her work in Los Angeles, Joshua Tree as well as Twentynine Palms, and Pasadena. She has been featured in The Guide to the Wild Mojave publication sponsored by the California Wilderness Coalition for her artwork and her advocacy efforts, and has appeared in The Desert Trail and LA Architect Magazine. Klein is a teacher of art, photography and woodworking.