Circles

Dianna Shyne (Me)

Susan Diehl

 

Susan Diehl Painting

So why am I not painting?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My 2012 painting trip to Italy and subsequent show at the Cole Gallery (Now through Mid July 2013)  began on a dark dirt road in Glacier Nation Park in 1990 where Susan Diehl and I first met. It was to be my very first plein air painting experience. Susan and I quickly became close friends…our children were the same ages, we lived in the same town, and were taking painting classes from the same teachers…Ron Lukas, Del Gish, William Reese....

We painted together for years until Susan and her family moved to Arizona.
Susan and I still get together to collaborate and travel, we are in some of the same galleries…we travelled to Western China together in 2008 to paint. So when the opportunity to bring a group of students to Tuscany arose, Susan was my first choice as a teaching partner. We decided to present a unique workshop where all the students were encouraged to use the iconic landscapes and ancient cityscapes to develop their own poetic voice.

This trip to Italy was the completion of a circle that started when I was 16 years old on my first trip to Italy…Until then, I had never really been exposed to original paintings. My first art experience of any kind was the Sistine chapel… Michelangelos iconic ceiling half cleaned and glowing with color, half dark with the grime of centuries. Until this moment, tiny pictures in text books were all I had. I stared at the ceiling until I was ushered out….I got it…art…painting…the profound immaculate and messy beauty of it. I knew I wanted to be an artist…to learn more (everything) …to see more…

Over the years, I longed to return to Italy to experience the landscapes that inspired both a Renaissance and my own life path. It was my dream, but career, children, finances, time constraints kept me away…now slow forward forty years and here I come full circle.

Returning to Italy as an artist and teacher, bringing eager and longing student artists with me to encounter this place as an adult with a whole life of experiences in tow became something entirely new… the completion of one circle and the beginning of a new one.

I will be returning to Tuscany again this fall with another group of students…It’s just me this time. It turns out I can’t be around oil paint at all. So Susan and I have parted ways as co-teachers, but continue our friendship and collaboration with this current exhibition of paintings. http://www.colegallery.net/searchresults.php?exhibitionId=270&start=1

A Busy Week

Open Window 24" x 18" 
 

Life as an artist is never boring, but I have periods of quiet time and deep reflection where it seems like all inspiration has fled and I know I need to recharge, and periods of frantic activity to get to a deadline.  This was my frantic week last week.







A Well Worn Path 24" x 30"

Tuscan Morning 24" x 24"

 I was finishing a collection of paintings for a show at the Blue Horse Gallery in Bellingham.  This included putting finishing details on 6 of the 15 pieces, sealing the backs of the panels, signing, varnishing, photograph, cataloging, framing and wrapping the frames, putting the pieces on the website, hand building and refinishing some of the frames...teaching three classes and a workshop, and leading a critique session.....at the end of the week I found myself finishing a workshop in Winslow, and dashing to get to the ferry...to drive through Seattle rush hour traffic north to Bellingham for the show opening.  I was on the road for 3 hours.  I'm not complaining, though,  I love this pace.  It really is wonderful and satisfying.

 I usually feel weirdly out of place at show openings, but that dissipates as I take a deep breath, temporarily banish  my gigantic self doubts and go introduce myself. People are usually so kind and gracious...that helps when I have put little pieces of my heart on the wall.

Today I am facing a house and studio that look like chaos...I always seem to leave a wake of rubble in my path when there is a looming deadline.  So today I am cleaning up my house and shovelling out my studio in preparation for the next wave of crazy activity.

Evening Fire

 An October Trip to Prince Edward Island became the inspiration for these two most recent paintings. I spent a good part of December working on them when I should have been preparing to have a houseful of family for the holidays. I managed to cobble together a reasonable facsimile of Christmas, and everyone seemed happy with the results. But the pay off was that I took the time I needed to paint.

 

Evening Fire 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas

I've been working on creating mood in my landscape paintings, exploring elements in each painting that evoke the essence of mood, and how I can  use these elements to improve my next piece.  I brought these two painting into my classes this week and asked my students about the feeling or mood that they experienced when viewing them side by side. The discussion revolved around the aspects of the paintings seemed to evoke mood. I was pleased that the consensus of the students matched my goals.

   

In "Evening Fire", it is the end of a day and the end of a season. The day is shutting down, the temperature is cooling off. Everything is going quiet. The muted dark colors, soft edges and lone figure imply quiet introspection. I started this painting with cooler grays and harder edges, and the feeling was depressing and morose. When I softened the grasses and warmed the colors, the feeling of the painting became warmer as well.
I loved the fiery glow of the last ray of sun as it slid down the far bank of trees, and reflected in the buildings on the distant shore.

 

 

Canoe Cove Tide Change 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas

In "Canoe Cove", I was trying to recreate the feeling I had when first viewing the scene. It was a feeling of peaceful anticipation...of a day yet to be experienced....sun, sand and an empty beach...sand bars just exposed and ready for exploration. The complimentary colors and gentle diagonal movements in the clouds and sand seem to create a subtle energy.

 

 I am always searching for ways to improve my paintings.  It is sometimes a slow road, but I keep working.  The work itself is a reward.  I love the moments when I close the door on the studio, squeeze out the paints, ready my brushes and realize with joy that this could very well take all day. Christmas won't wait, but sometimes inspiration won't wait either.