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January Issue 2005
Waterfront Gallery in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Dixie Dugan
The
Waterfront Gallery in Charleston, SC, will present an exhibition
of works by Dixie Dugan on view through Jan. 31, 2005.
Dugan offers the following about her work: "Some artists say 'I can't think of anything to paint!' I only hope that there is enough time in my life to paint all of the images that are in my notebooks and on sticky notes and slips of paper on walls, desks and where ever I am when an idea strikes me. I also keep records of my works and sometimes going back to see where I have been inspires me to revisit an idea with a fresh perspective."
"I work
in series and have for a long time. I work one idea until I tire
of it; then go on to another. I do a lot of research when I begin
a new theme. In my kimono series I did a lot of research on what
goes onto real kimonos. I found that nature themes were the most
common decorations on real kimonos. When I began the butterfly
kimono, I called my daughter and asked her if a monarch butterfly
would be found in Japan. She said 'Mother, go to the library and
get a book on butterflies of the Far East.' Well, yes, of course,
that was what was needed. Thus I spent many hours look at the
types of butterflies native to Japan. On my first kimono painting,
I used the real kimono of a fellow artist as a model."
'Someday I will probably go back to watercolors and other mediums,
but now I am so involved with these beautiful and wonderful origami
papers and rice papers, that I am having too good a time to leave
it for the present. The challenge of cutting or tearing paper
and making a painting still captures my attention. I call this
work that I am doing now collage/mosaic/paper. Collage because
I use different papers to create the image; mosaic because of
the different shades and intensities I select to create the gradations
in color, and paper because I put paper on paper."
"People are my favorite subjects to draw and paint. I never tire of them. Their features and shapes intrigue me. The light on their faces and bodies captures my imagination and stirs me to reproduce that in paint and paper."
"People often ask me, 'Why didn't you finish the background on your painting?' or 'You paint some of the painting but leave some undone. Why?' The purpose is to get the viewer involved mentally and use their own imagination to fill in the unpainted spaces. I want them to bring something of themselves to my art and thus become involved in each of my works. I am also often asked to name my favorite painting. After having painted over 1500 pieces, I have decided that my answer is, 'the one I just finished and the one I have pictured in my mind are my current favorites!'"
For more
info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery
at 843/722-1155 or at (www.waterfrontartgallery.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.