Daisy-Anne Dickson

As a mother, artist and registered nurse I have found healing to be a common theme inside my life and within my abstracted narrative paintings.  My stories of healing, renewal and growth remain a constant inspiration for me, as I attempt to convey an experience of brokenness and subsequent healing—what it might feel and look like. The act of creating, for me, is an act of healing, reflection, and meditation. At times, this process may resemble a bold, inky line across a canvas or wood panel—linear, singular and smooth. At other times, it may be a tangled, knotted mess, pooling with somber greys, cerulean blues and sunset pinks.  Abstract elements may emphasize stillness by completely wiping out large portions of ground or remain frozen in time and space by resin. Contrarily, they may branch into many frenzied directions, peel, and drip.  In other instances, these tendrils of rich green or glossy black may reach off the canvas onto that which was meant to contain it—the frame—in an act of bold sovereignty.  Meanwhile, in the background of our healing, life continues to catapult us forward, being just one of many layers to this process.

Because I believe that beauty can be found all around us, I have a fondness for using discarded, surplus, neglected and broken materials within these narratives.  I salvage, repurpose, and up-cycle materials including antique frames, latex house paints, spray paints, and fabrics. I also utilize traditional media such as acrylic inks, gold leaf, conté crayon, and resin.  Each abstracted narrative is comprised of multiple layers, each one left to dry before beginning the next.  I often think of these layers in terms of pages in a book.  Using my tools and language of texture, movement, color and form to etch my unique story, while experiencing it at the same time.