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.
