Mycroft’s work takes shape through the attempt to reconcile a perfectionist impulse with the beauty and humanity of the imperfect. Working with water-based media, control must be relinquished and fluidity embraced. Even the careful guiding hand will waver at times, and one can’t always determine how paint may pool on the canvas surface. As entry points for viewers, these compelling painterly imperfections speak to Mycroft’s commitment to the balance between purpose and process, between calculation and spontaneity. Within Mycroft’s practice, mindful and deliberate choices are made regarding form and colour.

Inspiration comes mainly from the potential of the primed, raw canvas, and from the fluid nature of the liquid media. After establishing her colour field, Mycroft pours water-thinned acrylic paint onto clear primed canvas, creating stains of varying opacities. Here, medium merges with the artist’s practice: Mycroft must at once respond to and guide the flow of water. Lifting, tilting, asserting, and yielding all fill the brief space between the water’s contact and its settling. While the throughline of Mycroft’s works reflects the consistency of her process, the viscosity and volume of diluted paint are unique each time, calling the artist to respond with immediacy to the unexpected dynamics at play across the canvas.