Friday, July 23, 2010

Fable of the Five Birds




This was the first piece of the seven images in the Fables series that I completed in 2009. It will be included in an exhibit of collage and mixed media work curated by Peter Marcelle, owner of Hampton Road Gallery in Southampton. The exhibit will be at the East End Arts Council in Riverhead (www.eastendarts.org) from July 23rd through August 27th. Gallery hours are 10AM – 4PM Thursday – Saturday. The Arts Council is at 133 East Main Street in Riverhead, 631-727-0900.

Fable of the Five Birds contains elements of collage in addition to oil monotype, colored pencil and pastel. The small elements lined up on the bottom of the image are my way of adding “predella” images to the piece. In medieval and renaissance altarpieces small images relating to the main subject are often painted down below the main image and sometimes on the sides as well. Their function is to further amplify the subject of the altarpiece. For example, an image of Saint Frances will have predella images that relate stories of the life of the saint. Sometimes these small images are taken out of a large altarpiece over the centuries and are displayed on their own. In my Fable of the Five Birds I wanted to use this device to add depth and mystery. In all of these fable images in this series I wanted to create a strong sense of a possible story, narrative or fable. The fable itself remains a mystery, even to me.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

In the Jungle



Yellow Jungle 2010
8-1/4" x 11"
monotype, collage, colored pencil

This piece is the final one of a group of three new pieces that follow closely the work I was doing in the Fables series in 2009 (the entire Fables series can be seen on my website, www.diannemartinart.com). Sometimes an artist mines a certain "field" for a while and keeps getting called back to it even when it seems to have run its course. After doing the Fables series, I took a break from studio work for a while, traveled to Sicily and spent time relaxing over the holidays. When I sluggishly got back to the studio in later January, these images of jungles mysteriously appeared. Perhaps it was the winter and a yearning for some heat, twittering and sun baked hills.

Now that I look at this piece on one of the hottest days of the year, I somehow find it oddly comforting. This jungle is warm but not oppressive, I think. I hope you'll find it full of song and life.