Lisa Dworkin

Artist Statement

Painting invites me to feel the poetry of life. I see scenes that are evocative of narrative, graced by light. What are these personal memories that live in these compositions? Open doors, illuminated lights, trees swaying, a walk to the ocean - intimate glimpses of striking moments, of days starting and ending, of people connecting. I infuse myself in imagery. I see metaphor. I shed early morning light on a cold station; I hear the train and feel the crumble of the frozen ground beneath my feet; I cast shadows and call employees out to see the light at the end of the day; I float in a pond surrounded by Beetle Cats and sway with the grasses; I open a door to smell the fresh cut grass; I tend a garden; I hear a conversation; I feed a hungry soul with comfort food and connection. I paint in oil, a wonderfully forgiving medium that allows me to layer, change, grow. I sketch the scene and layer on the color and value variation. I commit to the detail and I edit. I harden edges or blend adjacent colors. I look for the answers to my curiosity about the scene to emerge in my piece. While this visual discipline has made me a sharper observer of the everyday, it is the joy of expressing my response to a moment, a mood, a look that drives me to continue.