Obscurascope - Danielle Morgan Paints

Stopped at the UAA library to pick up a book from interlibrary loan (A Short History of Privacy) and stuck my head in the little art gallery just north of the library entrance.  Bright, bold, colorful watercolors by Danielle Morgan.   Here's a closeup from Tryptomania.

Click to enlarge and focus any of these images

From the artist statement:

"Obscurascope is a word that I assembled which means to 'investigate the unseen.'  I think a lot about the transience of life, the permanence of death, and enjoy the mysteriousness of it all.  The eye is a symbol that I use to represent my fascination with this mystery."

Investigating the unseen is definitely a topic that fits right in here at this blog.  I suspect that death fits in this category well, but being unseen means we don't really know if it is permanent.  We know about the death of the body and things like no pulse, no breath, and other medical ways to determining the death, but what does permanent mean?  One could argue that death is very fleeting - it's the moment that life ends.  Or as Buddhists might, that death is a temporary state before you are reborn.  This is not meant to challenge artist Morgan's words, but to take her thoughts and play with them a bit.

The one above is called "The Beast."  There were maybe 20 pieces in this exhibit reflecting a number of different styles.

The artist statement continues:

"My drive to create has been with me from a young age, and I spent countless hours drawing and writing as a child and as a teenager.  As an adult, I was in an abusive relationship for over three years.  I spent the majority of that time in seclusion and without access to my family or friends.  Drawing in my sketchbook and exploring my imagination helped me get through those dark times, and made me feel free.   . ."

This one is called "Don't Forget To Breath."   More from the artist statement:

"I started drawing with ballpoint pen many years ago, but didn't start using watercolor paint until I took Beginning Watercolor at UAA with Professor Garry Mealor back in early 2013.  At first the medium frustrated me and I was sure that I would never get the hang of it.  With each assignment I felt like I was improving and have since worked primarily with watercolor paint.  It wasn't until the past year that I thought to combine my love of both ballpoint pen and watercolor.  Since the ink in the ballpoint pen I use is oil-based, the water based paint does not smear it."

Most, if not all, of the paintings were for sale from around $200 to $1400.  You can see this exhibit until (see poster below) right next to the entrance to the UAA Consortium Library through the end of August.  You can see more works and even enquire about purchasing something at:

https://daniellemorganart.carbonmade.com  or
https://www.etsy.com/shop/obscurascope