DAHLGREN ART
My thoughts about art
I beleave It's about the thought behind a work. The concept. That is, I beleave what separates art from science and technology.
I love to mix figurative and abstract techniques. When you don't serve the the mind with everything - you allow the creativity and the imagination to flourish. That is an important part of the artwork - the process that happens when the picture hits the viewers mind and keep develope beyond the brush strokes.
I like when the process shines through my work. Rough brush strokes, spontanious events. All sorts of marks on the canvas that is a direct link between the viewer and the state of mind I have when i create. To be able to maintain that direct link, that authenticity I beleave it is important to have solid technical skills as a foundation of your art vocabulary. I beleave it is like any craft really. To become a good racing driver you must first learn how to change gears. To become the best pianist or ballerina in the world, you must first learn the notes and how to handle a plié. Only then you can let your work become something beyond that foundation. Start improvise, connect with your feelings and become autentic. Therefore I always make sure to develop my technical skills in order to be able to devote myself fully to the spontaneity, because It is when I can paint without hanging me up on technical details that my work will be as authentic and alive as I want it to be.
Technique
During the process of creating an artwork I use all sorts of tools - from knifes, paper, pencils, my own hands and sponges and I love to play around with a variety of ways to express the colors. I usually build up an artwork in several layers, which creates a lot of depth and structure. I love when an artwork has thick structures and a lot of paint. Sometimes I also use other media to create excitening patterns.
A work often goes through different phases of creation where some parts of the process are spontanious, fast and a direct link of energy between me and the canvas. This process opens up for happy accidents which often became favorite parts of a work. Other parts of the process requires another type of focused energy to create technical difficult details or shapes. It is very time consuming and during this phase there is little room for spontaieity. I think it's exciting to alternate there two forms of energy in my creation.
Material
For me it is important that an artwork will have the best ability to last for as long as possible, therefore I am very picky when it comes to what material I use in my work. I only use the highest quality on canvases and acrylic paint. I shop my material from professional art producers with long experience in the field.
All canvases are acid free cotton canvases made for professional artists, and the acrylics are light resistance.
Born in Halland, Sweden 1989, Emma Dahlgren is a self-taught abstract artist now living and working in Oslo, Norway.
She does abstract-figurative originals and illustrations.
Her artworks are all close to her thinking and her experience of life and its complexity. Emma has been painting for as long as she can remember. She grew up in a family were art was part of life. There were always pencils, colors and paper available at home - and as a child she was dragged around all sorts of art exhibitions while her friends went to amusement parks and legoland - something she did not appreciate so much as a child, but as an adult she is very grateful for.
Emma would describe her creation as playful, dreamy and deliberative. Often with a melancolic undertone. "I love to play around with mixing reality and imagination - creating something new that does not excist in our real world". Her artwork blurs the boundary between reality and fantasy, creating a space in the viewer's mind that challenges her preconcieved notions of the world and its truths.
e.i.dahlgren@hotmail.com.
instagram: dahlgren_art