Spirit of Nature Series
The Calling
Oil on canvas, 3'X3'--primordial ancestry calls to present day woman. Catawba ancestry is indicated through the black snake on the rocks, indicating that the elegant lady is a descendant of the revered Black Snake Warriors of the 1700s. The view is of Red River Gorge in Eastern Kentucky. The painting was taken from an image that kept reappearing in the artist's mind.
morning walk
3'X3' oil on canvas--A modern day Appalachian woman walks in the early morning sun. She is a culmination of all that has been before her, an extension of nature and an expression of her ancestors. She represents life immortal and metamorphosis.
Once upon a july
Oil on canvas 2'X3'-- is gentle, dreamy and nurturing. She is one with her environment and she is at peace.
lady of the lake (green river)
lady of the lake (green river)
lady of the lake (green river)
3'x4' oil on canvas
Lady of the Lake
The artist was fishing at the southern end of Green River Lake in Adair County, Kentucky, with her sister when the sun began to set for the evening. She kept thinking of the Celtic legend of the Lady of the Lake and what she might be like if she were from Appalachia.
reflections of a woman
lady of the lake (green river)
lady of the lake (green river)
2'x3' Reflection of a Woman is the first in the Spirit of Nature series and is meant to symbolize that what others see of us are but slightly distorted reflections of our true selves.
Autumn Rain
lady of the lake (green river)
Autumn Rain
Oil on canvas 20"x26"
Inspired by raindrops on a car window and a vision of a mysterious farm girl with a red umbrella.
About
Artist's Statement
"I believe it is the job of the artists of the world to serve as windows into other realms, to remind our fellow earth-travelers that here and now are not all there is. I hope to show the spiritual in the ordinary and the beautiful in the natural. I want people to look at my work and be stirred by something elemental and eternal. I want to awaken the great wonderment of life in myself and in others."
"This is a poet with a deep sense of not only nature but spirit. She brings rich native tradition into play...in language that is strict and pure....This poet understand the relationship...between word and thing." Jay Parini
Appalachian Elegance
Darlene's art offers buyers a taste of exotic simplicity and a journey into ethereal reality . Each painting is infused with esoteric depth and cultural meaning. Every poem is a word painting and every painting is a visual poem. Darlene is obsessed with painting what she calls "ethereal reality," showing the extraordinary spiritual simplicity in the natural world. She paints the "beauty of nature and the nature of beauty."