Mary Tambini

 "In the past I have worked in a range of styles and different media which have included systemic painting, ie. painting based on number systems, searching for optical effects and painted in a very exacting and hard-edged style. I also spent a number of years focussing on sculpture and ceramics.

My work now is very different, but has fed off the earlier experiences and now feels more congruent with my temperament. The work is more expressive and leans towards expressionism as a style. I tend to work to a theme eg. "moving figures" or "swimmers". I treat the work as a process, the by-products becoming works in their own right.

I use oils, acrylics and mixed media, sometimes taking it into different methods of printing or three dimensions. For the past ten years, however, my predominant focus has been in painting, and in the challenge to trust my instincts and experience and take more risks.

I make drawings from observation as a starting point, occasionally backed up by photographs. I am interested in the gestural marks and dynamic form in the drawings which will inform the painting. It is a continuing process. The drawings are useful to me if the speed, movement, mood, gesture and dynamic marks are evident. I am interested in capturing the rhythm and space in two dimensions. When I work from the model I like quick poses and sometimes work from the moving figure.

Throughout my career as an artist, drawing has been, and continues to be, the underlying practice which informs my work. In the landscape drawings I use black and white media:- pencil, charcoal, conte inks, monotype. When working on the paintings in the studio I give myself considerable licence with colour. I like the emotive power of colour and am not afraid of it."