Artist Paints to Poetry
Artist Dolores Greco reaches into her box of paints like a magician going into his box of tricks, and randomly chooses four or five tubes. She squeezes ribbons of glorious colour on to her palette then dabs her paintbrush into chartreuse, and strikes the canvas with her first mark. Within minutes I realize that her work truly is magic.
Dolores paints from a place of honesty not from pretentiousness. Expectations from friends, family, society and the art world have dissipated and through years of exfoliation she has finally allowed herself the freedom to follow her own direction, to be true to herself so that a bright honest light has given her a sense of spiritual and emotional liberation to her work. “As an artist you must persevere, and never judge yourself. Artists are bombarded with the artists before them and even though learning techniques are important, one must struggle and evolve, constantly stoking that freedom fire. Responding from your soul is where the enlightenment comes from, not from your mind.”
She now has no need to ‘find’ a subject matter; instead she paints to a reaction, something from the news, a smile from a stranger, a story or a memory. After years of stepping stones from college, motherhood, helping create a successful family owned business to retirement, she knows she is on the right path. “Personal marks are made up of your own history as a human being and I have a chest full of history to draw from.”
Her breakthrough came in 2003 with her painting “Road from Carnarvon” which sold to the first person on sight. This was a reaction painting and a breakthrough for her. “We have a group of close friends that get together in Halliburton each October to stretch our creative spirits and share in close friendship. That year we walked through a wooded area near falls that thundered in our ears, we kicked at wet leaves, took pictures of tree mushrooms and moss, and of our group jutting out from rocks and tree roots creating a bond that only women can create” she recalls. We spent time in an old church slurping back hot tea in flowered china cups and ate current scones thick with butter, homemade strawberry jam and cream, talking and laughing about everything and nothing. Honouring all the simple things,” she smiles.
Her response to that bonding came through the canvas in warm, exciting and passionate cadmium orange, carmine, yellow ochre, sap green and lemon yellow. “It sold,” she says “because it evoked emotion from an art appreciator and isn’t that really want we want? It’s the act of expression which is a very important message of truthful insight as the artist feels it.”
Dolores Greco will be responding to Poet Allan Briesmaster’s work, and his delivery of the words. “It’s not always about what is being said, but also what is unsaid. I will be looking for the pauses, the silence.” Dolores will be responding by using water media and paper and which she will use in a later collage work. She will be donating an acrylic painting to the Words Alive Literary Festival first prize “On The Spot Poetry” winner.
You can have a look at her website www.doloresgreco.com
