BIOGRAPHY

Darlene is an artist whose work is predominately based in photography.  Initially a reference source for drawing and painting, she soon began experimenting with different techniques within the medium itself.  The love of photo/montage from her darkroom days drew her into digital when she was introduced to the computer as an art tool.  Her affinity for old buildings and abandoned properties along with crows, ravens and blackbirds is apparent in the majority of her work.  Gathering elements from her own images as well as characters from vintage photos she acquires at flea markets and antique shops, she blends them together forming new and often storytelling compositions.  Darlene's work has been described as mysterious, moody, wistful, surreal and sometimes dark but always thought provoking.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, she studied drawing and painting at The Sarah Brown School of Art before moving to Plainfield, New Jersey in 1977.  An interest in photography led to a 17 year employment as the Retouch Artist for a prominent studio and provided on the job training when digital came along in the 1990's.  She is currently self employed providing photographic painting, retouching and restoration to photographers and the general public as well as her personal artwork.

Darlene regularly exhibits at various galleries and venues throughout the New York and New Jersey area.  Her work is held in private collections throughout the United States

ARTIST STATEMENT

The current direction of my work is primarily photography montage (the technique of producing a new composite whole from fragments of photographs). I've always been a collector at heart,  so my photography naturally evolved from concentrating on a single composition in the camera as the end product,  to capturing images of anything that intrigued me for later use in a montage.  Antique and vintage objects that have had previous lives are elements I collect that eventually find their way into my work. It's difficult to predict what will be a starting point for a new piece;  a landscape with an unusual tree, a mysterious abandoned building, or the haunting eyes peering from a vintage portrait. Once I have a starting point, I begin to bring  components together piece by piece digitally in Photoshop until I'm satisfied with the composition. From there, I experiment with multiple filters, tones, colors and textures until the final piece is as close as possible to the original idea in my mind's eye.

 "The true locus of creativity is not the genetic process prior to the work but the work itself as it lives in the experience of the beholder."  - Monroe Beardsley, philosopher of art