Water-soluble artist paints continue to fascinate me and I find great joy in painting with carefree abandon. In fact, my friend Terry calls it “a variant Franchini form of tempering chaos.”

The real work begins when I want to make a finished painting from the wonderful movement that happens on wet surfaces. The work starts to dictate where it is going and if I resist, it will surely become boring and I will lose the flow. Sometimes the application becomes parts of a collage or requires another layer of paint or paper. When you look closely, you may see the history of the painting in textures and odd colors peeking through.

My paintings often name themselves before they are finished——-and sometimes I have to momentarily grieve their loss as another layer is added to the already named piece—-but I try to listen to the next layer more closely and follow its lead.

Contact Mary through the Blue Whole Gallery, 360.681.6033.

See more of Mary’s work on her personal web page: maryfranchini.com