Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Noctures: Paintings by Diana Suttenfield



Nocturnes in the Side Gallery--Oil paintings by Diana Suttenfield.

Ms. Suttenfield says:  "Inspiration comes from the land but the subject is more often 'light.' I do not try to copy nature but recreate it with the hope that my paintings start a dialogue with the viewer. I believe the real voyage of discovery does not involve seeing new landscapes, but in learning to look with new eyes at the old landscape. Recently I have discovered that painting from a still life offers the same intrigue with light.”

In this series of oil paintings, a break from her usual medium of pastels, she explores the time between daylight and darkness as it falls on familiar landscapes. Using a darker palette she has created a series interior compositions, her studio, a farm table with produce, as well as the rural landscapes of West Virginia.

Reilly Contemplates the Night and McDonald’s Farm are two paintings in this series that exemplify her mastery of brushwork.  These contemplative landscapes literally swirl with color and movement of the oil paint on the canvas, yet the subjects are a quiet home at twilight, (Reilly is the cat on the bench) and hay bales near a barn. 

Since 1968, Diana Suttenfield's artwork has been exhibited in regional, national, and European group and one person venues. A past member of the Maryland Pastel Society and Baltimore Watercolor Society, her paintings won national awards.

Visit this show, the Holiday Posters, the Camera Clique's Members Show and all the other exhibits and our Gift Gallery soon.