Are you an artist, arts organization or venue?

artist

What town do you live in?

Hadley

In which disciplines do you work or exhibit?

Drawing, Painting, Printmaking

Artist Statement/Bio

"My work is a poetic expression of the staggering beauty and strangeness I see in the world around me. I use the physical world as a point of departure to which I employ my own subconscious and subjective feeling to offer another way of seeing that touches on both the representational and the metaphysical. I am particularly interested in the bizarre birds I encounter in my daily life as agents for this divergence from banal reality.

For my process, I undertake countless hours of observation. While I also use sketches, photographs and video for reference, I mostly employ the use my subconscious memory of the experience of each bird encounter to recreate and record a manifestation of an inexplicable synchronicity. The resulting works are quiet and contemplative with an air of the surreal.

I am inspired by animal imagery in early cave paintings such as those in Lascaux, France, for their rawness and power. I take note of the animals in the ancient art and folklore of the many indigenous tribal cultures of the Americas. I am also inspired by the writings of naturalists like John Burroughs, William Breyfogle and Henry David Thoreau, for their keen understanding of nature and their pursuit for finding relevant personal truth in the natural world."

Describe your organization or gallery

I am also putting together a collaborative show with over a dozen local and national artists and writers. Please check out the project's blog periodically as it develops:

http://call-and-response.tumblr.com/

Thanks!

Website

http://dianasimard.com