Statement
“Prairie Rhythm”
Recalling the vast, untamed prairies of the American West, windswept, bustling with life.
It’s hard to say exactly how “Prairie Rhythm” came to be. But I think it is the result of several of my interests converging subconsciously. The first was the sight of some dried grass I saw growing on the side of the road near my house. I stopped my car on the side of the road, rolled down the window and took a snap shot. The second was a long, narrow rectangle with a 4:1.25 ratio that I created several years ago for a series of climate change pieces. I found myself going back to the shape time after time testing its limits. A third interest began when I read “The Ninth Street Women” at the beginning of the pandemic and gained an appreciation for the role women played in the Abstract Expressionism movement in the late 1950s in NYC. This lead me to take an online course on Abstract Expressionism from MOMA.
Abundance
Inspired by Robert Graves’ poem, “In Dedication”
“Green sap of Spring in the young wood a-stir
Will celebrate the Mountain Mother,
And every song-bird shout a while for her;”
And by the work of Joan Mitchell and Makoto Fujimura.
Like Prairie Rhythm, a snap-shot of grass, here spring grass bending in the breeze filled with life and possibilities, reworked to evoke the abundance of the spring equinox.
Bio
My first memory of making art is as a six year old recovering from paralysis in a polio rehabilitation hospital in Los Angeles. I still remember the joy of moving the finger paints around with my hands. Throughout my professional career in public service I always found time to visit galleries, study art, take classes and do some painting, paper cutting, and printing. After I retired, I began working full time as an artist. “Doyle Fanning” is a combination of me and my mother’s maiden names.
As I layer altered pieces of photographs to create original prints, I find myself stepping aside and allowing the art to find its own way.