Hometown: Southampton
Based in: Southampton
Residing in the small northern town of Southampton, Canada since 2015 Darlene Watson is an abstract contemporary artist that creates large-scale and smaller works using acrylics and mixed media. This artist's informal, spontaneous gestural and thoughtfully placed brush strokes show her energy as an abstract painter. With these brush strokes and sometimes using only her hands, she adds layers of vibrant or earth-toned works with shapes, lines and colour. Commissions are often considered by Darlene where she can add personal touches and script to the originals that bring joy to the collector and have personal meaning.
Darlene is a self-taught artist from her Interior Design consulting background.
Her works are collected worldwide and have found homes in Switzerland, Singapore, Austria, Kuwait, Ireland, Scotland, the UK, Canada and the United States.
Her works are a process for her to place constant thoughts on a surface. The natural setting in her outside world holds hands if you will with her imagination so she can create joy with shape, colour and line.
""Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time" Thomas Merton"
What inspires you?
Shapes, lines and colours throughout natural settings.
Describe your creative process.
Imagined ideas placed on the surface. Shapes, lines and colours play a big roll in the new works. Often thoughts and ideas of another painting surface while painting the current original. Ideas are jotted down after a walk to the beach or along the trails and revisited at a later date. Nature plays a big roll in the creative process and the colours are often used in the season that is happening at the time.
What are 3 words that best describe your work?
Passionate Expressive Joyful
Who are some artists that have influenced your work?
Kandinsky, Kline, Mitchell, Basquiant, Monet, Klimt, Frankenthaler, Rothko, Kooning, Twombly
What is the most important tool when creating your work?
My imagination
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
Compete only with yourself
Where do you go for inspiration?
The northern natural vignettes that surround my home and of course Lake Huron.