Thursday, March 12, 2009

Whisper the Luminous

Over the past three years my work has been a journey of transformation. Each step of the way has brought me closer to a mature relationship with my work that I have sought for decades. I've gone through a series of geometric compositions, learning about structure, light and atmosphere. I've mastered color through my recent ambient light series, which are minimalist meditations on the luminosity of color. Most recently, I explored new territory with texture, learning about layering and the expressive possibilities of the brushstroke and palette knife. Through it all I have maintained a devotion to the grid, and its potential for transcending the narrative and revealing nature's essence.

Whisper the Luminous, 2009, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
© 2009 Diane McGregor

This is my latest painting, and I believe it incorporates the various elements I've been exploring. There is the grid, deconstructed and reconstructed as form in the figure/ground relationship. There is an elegant minimalism that I've been chasing, that I feel is successful in this painting. The shimmering color field simultaneously holds the forms and dissolves them. Painterly areas of texture and saturate color are left as remnants of the original grid underpainting, contrasting with areas of pristine, flawless blending. And the luminosity of color creates a resonance that fills my heart with joy. The title of this painting, Whisper the Luminous, is from a poem by Hafiz, the mystical Sufi poet.
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9 comments:

  1. Angela Wales RockettMarch 12, 2009 at 5:42 PM

    Lovely. Just lovely. :)

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  2. Dave KingMarch 15, 2009 at 12:46 PM

    The painting grows on me the more I look at it. I would love to see the original. I can see in it much of what you describe, though before I read your text I had seen quite other things in it (and still can). This is my first visit to you, so I did not know what you had been working at before. I shall return, without doubt.

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  3. Jeane VogelMarch 16, 2009 at 11:38 AM

    Love the layers, the palette, the simplicity. Draws me in and invites me to stay.

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  4. Diane McGregorMarch 17, 2009 at 10:34 PM

    Thank you all so much for your positive feedback! It's a different kind of painting, one that requires patience and thoughtful reflection, and I wasn't sure how it would be received.

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  5. Marina BroereMarch 19, 2009 at 8:17 AM

    Brilliant! Small elements coming out and disappearing into a universe of misty color, that' s what intrigues me too in painting.

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  6. Rebecca CrowellMarch 20, 2009 at 7:33 AM

    I really like the focal points contrasting with the more quiet luminous areas--a similar comment to what Marina wrote. i find this visually compelling with a strong sense of content, in the abstract sense. i think you are really on to something here!

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  7. AnonymousMarch 22, 2009 at 6:29 PM

    This is a gorgeous painting. Floating on air or sea or cloud or thought, the suggestion of a grid holds your very lively/alive areas in stillness. I could look at this a long time.

    Dara

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  8. EmilyMarch 23, 2009 at 10:41 PM

    I think this one's lovely! (as are all of your works of course!) I really like the look! you're so talented.
    Love, Emily

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  9. Elizabeth SeaverApril 2, 2009 at 5:00 AM

    This is truly lovely.

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