About
In his short essay “Meditation in a Tool Shed,” C. S. Lewis described “looking along the beam” as entering into an experience through which a deeper truth becomes known. It is a way of seeing that stands apart from analysis. When great art is encountered, it can feel like a gift—conveying a mystery that cannot be fully explained but is recognized—a way of knowing rather than analysis. Like standing at the Grand Canyon at sunset. Sometimes the experience is quieter—a small moment of clarity. I don’t presume to create such moments, but they continue to motivate my work.
Her work hits deep. What it lacks in conventional prettiness is amply replaced by simple raw power, grit and sensitivity. Her subjects represent our everyday world and take a deep look—well under the surfaces of people and places—touching on the universal in the particular. A psychological sense of place and personality permeate her imagery.
Technically her work is a delightfully bizarre mash-up of paint—often urgently and violently applied—coupled with decisive, suggestive passages, and always woven together with a deft, delicate touch. Her work reminds us of the importance of representing one’s own visual truth and that real beauty comes in everyday packages.”
—Joe Paquet, Contemporary American Painter
DG Sullivan is an oil painter based in the Pacific Northwest and draws upon its beauty along with that of other rural and urban landscapes. Her work explores the character and atmosphere of people and places, attending to what is quietly revealed in everyday environments. Her sensibilities are strongly influenced by American history and artists of the 20th century. Encouraged by her artist father, her creative development was largely self-directed. As a teenager, she attended workshops taught by Sergei Bongart, a Ukrainian-born Russian Impressionist, as well as artists working in his tradition. After pursuing graduate study outside the arts, including a Master of Divinity, she spent several years in another professional field before returning to painting and beginning a mentorship with artist Joe Paquet, with whom she found a guide and co-sympathizer in her love of history and abandoned places.
Early inspiration includes George Bellows and the Ashcan School, the Russian Impressionists, and the work of Nicolai Fechin, Frank Tenny Johnson, Edward Hopper, the Wyeth family, John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, themes of Americana, and the layered history of New York City.