Contact
Artist Statement: Paul Tappenden & Joanna Dickey
We are often asked, “How do you collaborate?”
For us, true collaboration involves a letting go of the ego, which allows the piece to develop a life and voice of its own, separate from the individual needs of the artists. We share a deep love of the subject and a fascination with discovering new techniques. Having two minds working towards the same goal produces exponential growth in ideas and output. Working on many pieces at one time removes the precious importance of one single painting, and allows us a consistent flow of creative energy. We believe that we are also collaborating with the material, allowing it to have its own expression whenever possible. By giving up control, we make wonderful discoveries about the work and each other.
Fresco Découvrir
Fresco Découvrir is an application technique that we developed together in the studio. It combines the tradition of Italian fresco with impasto painting.
The surface is built up in layers using acrylic modeling paste to which color has been added. By scraping and sanding the patterns and imagery are revealed. The resultant effects are often richly complex and uniquely beautiful. Further layers can be added until the artist has attained the desired results.
This technique allows us to be spontaneous within the confines of the subject matter. Because of the unpredictable nature of the process, it becomes most rewarding when it is a collaboration between the artist and the material. The artist must learn to allow the material its own expressions and embrace the “happy accidents” that often create a far more fascinating surface than the practitioner could achieve alone.
Man will stand in awe of a magnificent vista, little realizing that at his feet there are small landscapes that are just as incredible. It is all a matter of perspective. Our nature paintings seek to reflect life at all its levels, from the microscopic to the infinite. We want to inspire people to look at unnoticed worlds through different eyes and consider that something as simple as a leaf in a puddle can contain great beauty. But then a leaf isn’t simple, is it?
Real appreciation of both nature and art requires the viewer to stop and enjoy the experience. Our hope is for the audience to appreciate our attempts to recreate our own interactions with nature, as well as to respond to the texture and color of the surfaces. We have chosen water as the backdrop of our subjects because of its ethereal qualities. Water, like life, is ever-changing. We merely capture a moment.
