Where ART Lives Magazine Volume 4 Number 1 | Page 60

Laurieann Dygowski
December 2017
What is your first memory of creating art?
In kindergarten, I loved to draw, and one day, I did not hear the teacher call everyone to sit into a
circle, because I had continued to draw. She called me out, but I ended up knowing that creating
was good for me, it helped me cope with situations I had no control over, and it calmed me, as it
does now, as an adult.
Do you have a favorite piece that you have created? What makes it special to you?
Every piece I create is special to me, and when it’s purchased, or I give it away, I feel a part of me
goes with that piece of artwork. If I had to pick only one favorite piece, it would be the scratch
board and acrylic painting I did of our female goose, Bra, who lived only a short time after I
captured her in my art.
Do you have a favorite artist that you admire or that inspires you?
Many favorites, and many influences from anything I see, be it 2D, 3D, architecture, jewelry, or
some other visual art, I get inspiration, and admire many other artists’ work.
If I had to center on one, I would say that Vincent Van Gogh is my all time favorite artist, for his
use of texture, quick application of colors, and the ability to capture the image many times
with a minimal number of paint strokes. I would say second is Gustav Klimt, because of how he
handled the human figure, almost flat, but not, and how his abstract, angled images surround
the realistic, softness of human flesh.
What do you listen to when you paint?
NPR Radio!
What tool in your studio could you not live without?
My fingers! I use them many times to spread the paint, and scratch it also. Smoothing the acrylic
paints is accomplished very well with the softness of my finger tips, and even when using
oil pastels, my fingers become involved in the process of blending.
What is your preferred medium?
Mixed media is my preference. I am not a purist in that sense. When painting on canvas, I enjoy
painting a colorful acrylic base, that is overlaid with oil pastels after it is completely dried. The
other favorite mixed media for me is using scratch board and then painting in acrylic into some
of the white areas, and scratching some more for hight lights and then applying more color, until
I achieve the mental image I have.
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