Website: http://dianebrawarsky.com
My paintings give voice to my story. I paint in a combination of oil and collage on wood panels, covered in canvas or linen. The paint is applied in layers. Often these layers are opaque, while other times I allow subtle hints of the “underneath” layers to be seen. I incorporate paper, fabric, found objects, and old books into my paintings to enhance the images. The materials I use often have a personal history – which I continue to remain aware of as I incorporate the object into the painting. These materials can be the starting point for a painting or they can fit perfectly into an image that I have already created. The three-dimensional objects interect with the two-dimensional surface. In some paintings I use the object as it is; while in other work, I take the object out of its original context and use it based on its shape, color, or other characteristics. This disrupts its perceived or conventional purpose, but meshes well with the whole piece. Often I create a figure or a series of figures whose shape and context has evolved over the years and continues to evolve. This figure is my narrator. Through her, I tell my story.
Rochester Institute of Technology, MFA1978
New York University, BS1973