Oscillation (II) By Mary Scott

Mary Scott
Oscillation (II)
Original Abstract Painting
Acrylic Paint, Pencil and Gold Leaf (Silver Finish) on Board
Board size: H 50 cm x W 40 cm x D 0.5cm
Framed size: H 53 cm x W 43 cm x 3 cm
Sold Framed in a White Wood Float Frame
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Please note that In Situ images are purely an indication of how a piece may look.

Oscillation (II) is a contemporary acrylic painting on board by Mary Scott. It is one of a series of three paintings evoking Cornish rockpools shimmering in the summer heat. The name ‘Oscillation’ reflects the constant ebb and flow of the sea through time: the twice-daily filling and emptying of the rocky pools, in a clockwork play of light and sound upon the unmoving backdrop of ancient rocky strata.

This painting evolved over many weeks. I chose an essentially summer palette, and added layer upon layer, blending together the edges of semi-wet areas of paint, followed by scraping and scratching as the paint started to dry. I then carefully sanded off some parts to explore what lay beneath. As this process was repeated, I added glazes for depth, and also a little gold leaf with a silver finish. Approaching completion, I allowed acrylic inks to drip languidly down the painting, reminiscent of running water in the hazy heat of summer.

Recalling memory, experience and emotion of special places, captured and imprinted on my mind, is very important to me when I paint. I have had a lifelong love of being immersed in ancient landscapes and wild places, enhanced by reading earth sciences at university. My approach to painting is largely intuitive. I may start out with a sense of direction, but then investigate colour, shape and textural mark-making in an open and exploratory way, building thicker and thinner layers of paint and glazes, before scraping back to discover what lies beneath. This process of revealing glimpses, half-hidden things and curious marks develops contrasts between the ancient permanence of rock formations, landscapes and seascapes developing through time, and the present and future possibilities of the elements above.

Based in Shipton-under-Wychwood in the Cotswolds, in 2020-21, I am excited to be heading regularly to St Ives, Cornwall, where I am taking part in the year-long mentored Porthmeor Programme at the School of Painting.

Size: H:50 cm x W:40 cm

Mary Scott artist and painter with Wychwood Art. Mary Scott paints abstract landscapes to make sense of her emotional response to, and memories of, wild places. Mary is influenced by her early career as a geologist, and in a busy world, she invites the viewer to slow down, and immerse themselves in space and time. Mary Scott's adopted home, Cornwall, and her journeys further afield, provide wonderful natural environments in which to walk, and to absorb and reflect on the landscape. Mary Scott uses a range of materials including acrylics, oils, cold wax, rock powders and natural pigments, to make responses which are fast and slow, bold and subtle, exuberant and quiet, capturing her feelings and memories over many layers. Mary’s approach is intuitively liberating, using both colour (or its absence) and texture freely and responsively. Mary is very conscious of our human smallness in space and time. In a fast-paced world, she finds herself reflecting on the enormity of geological time, slowing down my process to create a glimpse through windows into the past of these ancient landscapes which require nothing from us but stillness. Instead, we humans have imposed our will and errors of judgement, and she is disturbed by environmental degradation heaped on our planet. Mary borrows from the geological world to express this, for example, making marks to represent fractures, fissures and fault lines. In contrast, she uses loose shapes and embracing curves as metaphors for how the Earth has held and sustained life through time. Having recently undertaken a year-long progamme at St Ives School of Painting, she is currently developing her practice through participating in Newlyn School of Art’s ‘Professional Landscape’ mentoring programme. Mary Scott artist is shown in Wychwood Art gallery and online . Please call 07799 535 765 or email deborah@wychwoodart.com .