Statement
I create abstract paintings built up in layers of oil paint on canvas. I begin my mark-making with pencil and pastel, creating lines and grids to hold my forms in place. Then, line stencils and templates move the shapes around the canvas as I compose. I refer to geometric and natural shapes inspired by my immediate world. Sometimes, figures appear. My references come from mythology, song titles, and popular phrases. Recently, I have been exploring human expression through the figure.
The visible lines and shapes in the under-painting are important clues for the viewer to understand my invisible world. My canvases are layered with symbols, while color gives way to the ordering of space. I use multiple perspectives that shift a viewer’s comfort zone.
The Italian practice of pentimento is a modification I frequently incorporate into my paintings. It is visual evidence of areas where I changed my mind, showing those alterations as important to the final work. It is just beneath the transparent surface where the viewer is given clues to my meaning. My work can be found at www.dianesanbornart.com.
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