“When you paint the personal, you hope to touch on the universal. I am a prism through which the rays of light shine; I bend and modify those rays, but I am not their source.” Mary Tudor
Mary’s abstract style requires greater participation on the part of the viewer. Abstract works are open-ended in regard to their interpretation. The viewer is not bound by predefined images and their associations. The mission of her work is to evoke a feeling, not to depict a specific image.
“Art work must move us emotionally. If it doesn’t, it is functioning as a decoration, nostalgia, political statement, etc. Art is about creating fresh vision; creating a truth that we have never seen before.”
Mary’s paintings are purposely ambiguous. Light, emotion and empathy are placed in such a way as to elicit a visceral response in the viewer.
People who have purchased and live with Mary’s work on their walls tell her that they see something different in the painting over time. The painting hasn’t changed, but the way they see it has. Her paintings are open ended, therefore, they stay fresh for the viewer. In some cases a painting may function like a meditative object, wherein the viewer projects their own inner life into the artwork.
Mary has commented that an artist’s mind can be anywhere and intuitively capture the spirit of a place. Many people who have seen Mary‘s paintings will ask her, “Have you ever been to the South Atlantic off Africa?” or “You must have visited the Brooks Range in Alaska,” or ” You have been to Antarctica, haven’t you?”
These are places Mary has never visited, but viewers of her paintings see that she has captured the essence and spirit of these places.
Mary’s paintings have an outstanding three dimensional appearance. Due in part to the unique blend of oils and synthetic bee’s wax that she herself has created, this allows her to create textures that oil alone cannot achieve. These heavily textured canvases will not crack over time.