Mary Lou McCollum

Painting is an escape into my subconscious.  I feel personally challenged, refreshed, calm and centered when I am making art.  My life runs more smoothly when art is a part of it.

I want to pose a question. A mystery.  I paint a range of subjects:  stairs, chairs, mountains, seashore, abstracts.  My subjects are often left with a question or choice for the viewer—and myself.  Do I want to go there?  Where do these stairs or rooms lead?  Did someone just leave this chair or are they just arriving?  Do I feel curious or cautious? 

Although ambiguity may not be my goal at the beginning of a painting, my process of continuing to simplify often leads to abstraction which is where the mystery begins.

I have learned to give the inspiration for my work time to evolve, to work out the challenges it offers me, and to bring it to completion and my satisfaction.