Jeanne Sisson lives in
Northfield, Massachusetts, in a beautiful spot overlooking the
Connecticut River valley. Her creative energies are balanced between
her artwork, three active children, and a supportive husband.
Artist's Statement
I work in many different mediums when
planning and doing preliminary studies for paintings, although I find
myself drawn to oil painting and batik painting for my finished works.
I am fascinated by the human figure and continue to study by attending
workshops and taking any opportunity I can to draw from the live
model. I am constantly learning from every painting. I am excited by
the idea that my artwork is life school, and that my life is artwork.
Including dream imagery in my art has enhanced this learning
opportunity tenfold. I am so grateful when I am bestowed with the gift
of a great dream that just has to be drawn.
"Apple Dreams"
Months after waking up with the vivid image of an apple sliced in half
in my head, this picture would often pop into my mind for no apparent
reason. One day while driving, I was visited by the sliced apple again
and became determined to go home to draw the image. That drawing led
to a small watercolor study which led to this larger batik painting.
"3 ½ Dreams from a February
Morning"
I love it when I wake up with imagery so vivid it just has to be
drawn. I spent that February morning drawing pieces of those dreams in
one composition and a few days later was compelled to start the
painting. The following are excerpts from my journal that morning…
"A Beginning or an End"
I started this painting four years ago while my father-in-law was
dying. I originally intended it to be a therapy piece, trying to paint
emotion using color; it was not for public consumption. The painting
was only swirling colors and I set it aside, unsure of how to take it
further. Occasionally over the next few years, the painting would call
me from the corner of my studio and I would set it on the easel. Then
I would disappear in a kind of painting meditation adding more color
or movement to the canvas. One morning I woke up knowing what to do.
The painting needed a figure reacting to the space around it,
something to represent the human experience in the emotional tumult of
life. Did the answer or direction come from my dreams? Not as directly
as some of my other work but I am convinced that my dream life, though
sometimes so subtle, still directly affects my artwork and lifework.
