About the Artist

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     The artist, Darlene Grady Duggan, is an acrylic painter.  One of seven children, she grew up in a quiet suburb on the North Shore of Boston and spent summers vacationing on Cape Cod.  Her time spent on Cape set the foundation for a love of sandy beaches, salt air and crashing waves. This love turned into a desire to express what she saw and felt in a form of 2 dimensional arts. She started sketching, always keeping paper and pencil close at hand. 

     Having no formal training, in 2009 Darlene desired to create better sketches and started an evening class with Deborah Stanton.  After a year of Deborah’s persistence to bring color into her art, Darlene finally gave in and tried colored pencils, then pastels, moved on to watercolors and then settled in with acrylics where she fell in love and has not put the brush down since. 

     Many of her works are personal expressions of nature and its vegetation.  These expressions are derived from photographs, memories and experiences of the places and things she has done and seen.  Starting with a blank canvas Darlene takes these feelings, along with their memories, and creates her art.

     When choosing the surface and style for a painting she loves working on a gallery wrapped canvas.  It presents her with a personal challenge, ensuring that the transition of the image she is painting is smooth and works visually from all angles as it wraps around the corners of the canvas.  

     For smaller artworks she likes to work with gesso board because of its smooth surface and detailing properties. She also chooses wood panels when the artwork benefits from the grain of the wood.

      Her goal, what she aspires to achieve in her art, is an image that has great aesthetic appeal and engages the observer. An image that draws them into the scene, makes them smile and fills them with a sense of peacefulness.

At the beach...

       you never know 

               what waves will bring to your shore...

Member:   

          Andover Arts Guild       

          Rockport Art Association

       What I Learned At the Beach™