Making the Unseen Visible or Choosing A Different Reality by Skip Lawrence

Dianne Schelble’s love affair with Chase’s Market – seen and felt.

I have been privileged to share some very special moments with some very special people, artists. Artists who are excited about new awarenesses that move their art to a new level. The most wonderful thing about these moments is that they just keep coming throughout an artist’s life. Whether a new technique, a new understanding of design, or a new insight into self it is these moments that keep artist inspired for a long life.

Most beginning artist have the initial goal to make things look REAL, meaning is visually accurate. Scholarship, experience, and the desire to get better invariably lead to the realization that there are many forms of Reality.

Reality #1 is visual accuracy. Paint what the subject looks like.

Reality #2 is the emotional response to the subject.

Reality #3 is non-visual reality such as the reality of love. For these subjects the artist uses symbols such as a red heart or relies on colors, values, and textures to convey a feeling tone desired.

Coming back to earth and things that are more real to we mortals I have selected paintings by dear friend and fine painter, Dianne Schelble. Dianne’s images are always a celebration of the things in her life. She lives in a beautiful home she and Paul, her husband, built in Liberty, Maine. Her work has progressed through the typical subjects and techniques associated with most amateur artist. Most recently her subjects come from Chase’s Daily (a great farm to table vegetarian restaurant) in Belfast, Maine. Each day fresh flowers and vegetables are delivered to the restaurant and a ritual dance of unloading the palette of shapes, colors, and intensities flowers takes place. Dianne’s love of flowers, people, and joy finds this to inspire her heart, head, and most recently her reason to paint.

Words are sometimes inadequate to describe what Dianne feels when observing flowers and light but has no problem conveying her response in color, value, texture, and shapes. Recently her paintings, of the same subject, have taken a new direction-she is now exploring the magic of the flowers and people by painting not what she sees but what she cannot see. Energy, smells, movement of light, activity, and a sense of joyfulness are not things we see but they are no less real.

Painting what you do not see is no better or worse than painting what you do see. The only sin here is to not allow you to explore all possible realities. I often see paintings that while technically near perfect, are void of soul, personal expression, and creativity.

So, do what Dianne Schelble does paint the reality of observation, paint the reality of feelings with some props , and paint the reality of things not seen but felt and understood.

“Vase of Flowers” w/c on paper

Image based mostly on visual accracy.

“Feed The Body Feed The Soul” by Dianne Schelble acrylic on panel. Image evoked from collective real observations and emotional sensations.

“Chases’s Light” acrylic on panel

Painting the unseen reality of light movement, energy, fragrance, and love.