Mary Didoardo: Short Story

Working on wood panels, a field of color is established and then masked. Masking adds an element of the unexpected. It is difficult to visualize what the results will be until the mask is removed. I begin with an initial line drawing and then cut and refine it with an xacto knife which gives the line a sharp focused graphic feel. Working in layers, myriad small and immediate decisions are made, through drawing and redrawing. The result is a visceral connection between viewer and painter in the surface reading of these paintings. Embedded lines, surfaces worked and layered, my paintings reveal all stages. This brings the viewer into the middle of the action engaging them fully in their making. Through animated line each painting seems to acquire a distinct character. It’s the vitality of drawing that informs the space in my paintings where line becomes language, movement, lyricism, gestural eloquence.