Mari Richards – Abstract Paintings
The moment I try to plan a painting is the moment it stops working.
Why do I paint?
Painting gives me access to a part of myself that I can’t access in any other way. I’m able to move with instinct and intuition, working in dialogue between an inner knowledge and the paint in front of me. It’s a process that helps me release my need to control, as I let go of outside thoughts and concerns. It’s a space where I can connect with my own instinctual nature.
My paintings capture my shifting perspectives: moving back and forth from viewing the outside world to glimpsing my own inner world. There’s a focus on bright, saturated colors – a rainbow of options – yet they contain richness and depth. I want them to thrive on movement, layers, secrets, and conversations. Paintings take on their own life as I paint them, full of gestural marks and an exuberance looking to burst past their canvas borders.