Extraordinary Artist Statement

My artist statement is much too complex and hard to follow. So back to defining my goal: To display a visual progression of my style. Should it also justify my style beginning in childhood? Is it to question whether I have a rich involvement keeping to the twisting and whispy brush stroke style?

This artist statement was intended for "Dragons Boogie Woogie". It is made up of selected photos of me placed near art of the same period. In high school and more recently I have been criticized for using aspects of Asian art that is not my culture. A trip to Israel helped me ignore the critics because I saw where merchants had brought materials like iron balast to Israel in the 19 th century along with Asian motives of the dragon.

Dragons Boogie Woogie - solo exhibit

At the Keizer's Art Association Enid Joy Mount Gallery in February the "Boogie Woogie Modular" will have the first showing displayed on a table easel. The easel stabilizes the modular frame for easy use. Numerous combinations can be made by rearranging the blocks.

Looking Back and Thoughtful Development of Modular Frame Series

" Ruth's Pond" ,1961, oil on Belgium linen, 29" x 38" for sale $400
During school vacation I painted outdoors at a friend's house. This is a style I come round to and develop.

"Yellow experimental abstract", acrylic with balsa wood relief, 1966 For sale $180

"My Table: My Palette", oil on canvas supported by wood and plywood corners, 32" x 43" , 1990. For sale $400 The support frame was scavenged from an earlier experiment - a silk painting stretched over fiber fill to make the wall hanging look like soft fiber sculpture.

Like in the past the modular frame series could be an isolated series of abstracts. I don't want to crank them out. Each must have meaning for me and be a part of my goal to have a rich involvement that I hope will evolve into a rich development. Each will start without knowing what adventure I will have to achieve the resolution. The resolution will be the recognition of feeling and symbolism that communicates. Usually development comes from limits and repeating the same type of picture. I have taken the path of trying many directions and there has been a great deal of time since my first similar paintings. When I am doing other kinds of painting new ideas for these abstracts incubate. At least incubation is the excuse I use for not pursuing abstraction continually.

Looking at these I feel I have just begun to stretch my muscle for abstraction by working at it now and then during the years.

Free standing modular painting or wall hanging

My husband mounted Masonite pressed board to a support frame making what is called a deep cradled box. These boxes can stand on their own or be hung on the wall without a frame. A grouping can have its own special modular frame in which the boxes can be continually arranged one way or another or flipped revealing new possibilities with the underside showing. This is a fun project to do with my husband.

Pulling and rearranging the blocks within the frame is easier to do on the table. The modular frame is becoming a sculpture stand.

Modular Frame # 3

The third modular started out on the wrong foot with a raised grid squeezed directly from the bottle but after a frantic day, I removed some paint with some alcohol and a rag. Then subsequent colors and the background of the frame started making me happy again. I may call this modular "Energy Squared". The nine 6" squares were challenging. The energy and color and the almost infinite possibilities of rearranging the modular is reaching for new levels of experience and spirit. To continue the tour of spiritual cornerstone paintings click on the clink here. http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2007/12/yesterdays-frustration-todays-multiple.html#links

Trees-a-skating

This raw silk banner is for sale. $700Trees-a-skating is one of many roller skating theme paintings done during the 1970's. I was not the most adept at roller skating although I did make some progress with lots of trial and error. Here is a detail of a banner painted with dyes and paints on raw silk.

Picking Blue Berries, sumi on rice paper, 1979

Completing Four Panel Modular

These four squares and frame just flowed for me. I was pleased that creating a circular movement in the middle worked when I rotated the individula squares. There are many possibilitiies in creating new connections in changing the panel possitions. I have one more modular of nine squares and I will just show the final results Friday, January 18. In the mean time I will attempt to publish a new blog - "From Then to Now" to reveal a thread that connects my ever changing path in my paintings. I have taken a different course trying many directions with the belief that I would be more creative. But I am not sure if I am a positive example or one that others should avoid.

First day of four panel modular

The combined four panels make a circle composition because I thought rotating the individual panels will make many possible different combinations. There is too much activity already. I plan to remove some paint and paint over areas with more absorbant ground. This window painting reminds me of my earliest abstract painting from from about 1959.

My first oil abstract painting, 1959

This painting is not for sale. Here is another painting dating back to 1959. I remember thinking of deep outer space and how reality was abstract if you pick a viewpoint far enough away. I was thinking that nature was usually curved.
This is one of the paintings I am including in a new blog. But before I begin the blog, I am going to continue my goal of painting abstracts for a month.

Rethinking the Resolution of Modular Frame

It is interesting to see how a more intense frame around the squares changed how the squares relate. Now there is more contrast in the background frame and the squares are becoming more subtle.

"Can You Find the Dragon?" exhibit at Sam's Station

"Gallery Dragon" watercolor mixed with acrylic medium on deep cradled box, 7" x 5"

Diane Widler Wenzel will be exhibiting her painting show, "Can You Find the Dragon?" at Sam's Station January 12 - 30th. The paintings can be seen during business hours at Sam's Station, 1210 NW 29th, Corvallis Oregon.

Diane's Dragons are happy often playful Asian dragons symbolizing good fortune and life's beginnings in water.

Diane just last year gave her self permission to paint dragons which led her to seeing them more frequently in the geometric shapes in nature. In addition she is amazed to discover the dragon's twisting serpentine "S" and angular jaws hidden in many of her earlier landscape paintings. The dragons were made subconsciously from childhood memories of family heirlooms collected by generations of Widler merchants living in Asia.

Modular Frame Ninth Day Finishing Touches

These are five more close ups of the nine boxes in the modular. Today I am also putting undercoats on the second modular frame . Also picking up and delivering paintings to Pegasus Art Gallery. My wall rental was only through December.

Eighth Day Resolution of Modular Frame

The Modular Frame is pushing our skills to the limit. It is a new idea materializing. My collaborative partner, my husband, worked in the shop today trying to make a companion piece for the one I am working on. As might be expected in working out the kinks in a new creation not all is perfect on the first try. The tolerance of the fit is very slim in each of the nine compartments in the frame. These frames are difficult to make just right with my husbands equipment.
Below are some blocks evolved to final resolution. the modular frame is a 23 3/4" square. Each of these deep cradled boxes are 6 inch squares. The medium is watercolor with acrylic medium and acrylic paint. The modular can be hung on the wall or placed in a stand for putting on tables. The complete modular with stand is for sale $900.