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"Art is nature seen through a temperament"
(Emile Zola)
I am a self taught mixed media and collage artist. My mixed media paintings are created using acrylic, gouache, oil
pastel, opaque ink, china marker, colored pencil, and acrylic textural mediums.
My collages include acrylics, acrylic mediums, deli
paper, aluminum foil, cheesecloth, stamping foil, and decorative
beads, jewels and other objects and materials for
embellishment.
I am attracted to African, South American, and Persian art. The direction and development of my style has been greatly influenced by the work of Henri Matisse, Gustav Klimt, Frida Kahlo, and Alice Neel.
My work is characterized by its textural
quality, rich, bold, and often metallic or iridescent color, with a focus on
pattern, design, decorative elements and embellishments. I often paint solely
from imagination, and have begun to integrate religious and cultural
symbols into my compositions.
Interiors, figures, and portraits are the primary subjects of my representational paintings. I am
particularly interested in the solitary figure within or amid some type of
construct, real or imagined. I depict individuals in quirky, decorative,
exotic, or surreal ways, imbuing them with individual character and a life
story. My method with each painting is experimental and exploratory, aiming to
convey a sense of time and place within the context of my personal vision and
expression.
-Dawn McLaughlin
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