Matter and Spirit in "Dorothy Thayne: Presence"

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Dorothy Thayne 2005 KNOCK! Oil on linen

ANNVILLE, PA (04/09/2015)(readMedia)-- Spanning boldly across the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery at Lebanon Valley College, the works of "Dorothy Thayne: Presence" radiate a palpable energy and distinct sense of vitality. Through painted and sculpted images, Thayne reveals and venerates the people and places that shaped her life and guided her in her process of artistic, personal, and spiritual growth. Exploring varied scale, surface, palette, and mark-making techniques-as well as varied subjects, styles, and materials-this eclectic body of work is made cohesive through the intangible but decidedly present essence of life Thayne creates in her art. Imbued with the spirit of its subjects and the artist's own soul, her work does not merely reflect life but embodies it.

Rebecca Worhach, a junior art & art history major at Lebanon Valley College, recently had the opportunity to correspond with Dorothy Thayne. During the interview, Thayne detailed her origins as an artist and iconographer and provided insight into her creative process, expanding on the theme of life within art.

When did your interest in art first develop?

Being an artist has always been a strong part of my identity. From my first scribbles, my delight in the colors in the crayon box, to selling drawings of horses in the third grade to every member in the class, to being identified by my peers as an artist in high school, to finding endless joy in the process. I always wanted to be an apprentice in a Renaissance art studio but found the next best thing. During my four years at the Rhode Island School of Design, I was surrounded by art and artists and creativity.

Do you have a distinct process for selecting the subjects of your paintings?

I prefer to work from life whenever possible, looking for subjects in my immediate surroundings. I will "see" my composition as I am looking at the subject. That process has a lot of conscious and unconscious thought leading to the selection of the image and composition.

Are there specific artists or artistic movements that particularly influence or inspire you?

I am inspired by Monet, Matisse, Cezanne, John Singer Sargent, Rembrandt, Titian, the Quattrocento Italian painters. When I visit the National Gallery of Art, I always spend time with da Vinci's Ginevra de Benci and Monet's "Cathedral" series. At the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, I look at Duccio's small Madonna and the French Impressionists. At MOMA, I sit with Monet's Water Lilies. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has some Vuillards, to name just a few.

When did your interest in iconography first develop: with your studies with the master iconographer or before?

Icons were not part of my religious background. I was familiar with religious art, but much of it seemed staged and though physically gorgeous not that meaningful spiritually. I love the Madonnas of Botticelli, Fillipo Lippi, da Vinci and Gerard David, but to me their beauty is more secular than spiritual.

When I came upon the chance, in 1994, of studying with the newly formed Prosopon School of Iconology, I knew I was meant to do this work. Vladislav Andreyev, founder of the school, had "written" an icon of the Mother of God that was both incredibly beautiful and profoundly spiritual. I am still trying to attain that level of grace. Since then I have stood in front of icons that were painted in almost a primitive fashion, but had the same quality of spiritual presence that reached out from the wall to envelop me in grace. There is more to it than the technique.

You describe painting icons as "devout act of prayer, humility, and silence" and an act of veneration. Are there parallels between this process of veneration and your process of painting the people and places important to your life?

This is a very good question. When I spend time with a subject there is contemplation that is best undertaken in silence. I am very focused on the process from moment to moment, stroke by stroke, until the subject and the art object merge. What I mean by that specifically is that for me the painting "becomes" what it represents. The "becoming" is not just surface appearance.

Does your process of painting figures differ from your process of painting landscapes?

I use more than one process for all subjects depending on the medium and whether the painting is figurative or leans more to abstraction of the image. When I keep to one subject long enough the process forms out of my response to the image, and at that point becomes a definitive style.

Do you primarily paint from life versus from photographs or memory?

If I can't paint from life, I work from a quick sketch done in front of a subject, a color study or color notes, and then use photographs and my memory for reference.

Your paintings have a great use of expressive line and bold color; how important are brushstrokes and color in capturing the essence of life in your art?

Using unblended brush strokes and color creates a vibration in the work. With vibration there can be resonance or dissonance, as in life attraction and repulsion. Color is symbolic as well as provoking a visceral response. The symbolic meaning of color can vary according to culture and time period, but the vibration of color has a physical effect on us. Color is often associated with feelings.

You allude to this when describing your continuous presence within your work: would you say the strong presence of life within your work stems not only from the spirit of the subject but from your spirit as the artist?

If that is the case I would be glad. Good art has something in it that is hard to define but is often interpreted as life force. It's as if the invisible, though still invisible, has somehow attached itself to the work of art and can be felt by the viewer. That invisible "something" is the imprint of the artist. If I am in the painting then what part of me is evident?

Lebanon Valley College's Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery will present "Dorothy Thayne: Presence" April 3 through May 17 as the fourth exhibit of the Gallery's 20th anniversary season.

Gallery hours are Wednesdays from 5 to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 4:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and by appointment for groups. Schools and other organizations are encouraged to contact the Gallery for a guided visit. Additional information is available at www.lvc.edu/gallery, gallery@lvc.edu, or 717-867-6445.

Thayne actively encourages Gallery membership, as member patronage helps provide LVC students with access to high quality art and brings diverse artistic and educational programming to the community. For more information, please visit www.lvc.edu/supportLVC/friends-of-the-gallery.aspx.