GALLERY 2. Abstraction forms a major thread in Mary’s work
Spontaneous working means that every piece is a surprise, as the pencil is allowed to take the lead, in making the lines which combine to make the form.
More than 50 years of drawing, especially from life, develops lines which may have become autonomous.
That does not mean automatic, as there is intention from the instrument but, most often, not from the hand. This spontaneity also means that no other tools are used so any wonky lines just add to the handmade feel of the piece!
Somewhere there is ‘imagery’ stored, whether a sound, a smell, a touch - who knows what experiences we store in the deep caverns of our minds’ ? Mary says “Thus I feel that the images which emerge are FROM me but not necessarily BY me”
The image below is painted in plant-based inks onto khadi
Originating, then, from within, without a specific narrative, the title remains an integral part of each piece. Words crop up while working on the piece. They may be clues as to where the image originated, or may be not. But often they add to its form or give the image an identity. So, in that respect, they are significant.
Images below - closeup and personal
From charcoal to pencil, and from acrylics to watercolours, Mary’s work has developed along these lines dictated by a desire to work sustainably. There is also a need to connect more intimately with the materials, so she reluctantly abandoned collaging old drawings and packaging at this point, unable to source a strong natural glue.
Images below include two 20x20cms watercolours, MATCH and SWING, and several 1m square acrylics, on board collaged with paper.
Although dwarfed here by the watercolours which are considerably tinier than these pieces, these are works on board sized 1m x 1m All are painted in acrylic with collaged old drawings or reused packaging paper
