 |
 |
 |
 |
|
    |
Talent intensifies
Prize-winning artist's work in New York show
By Johanna D. Wilson - jwilson@thesunnews.com
Undeniable beauty is here.
On white walls inside golden frames and on canvas emblazoned in color, Dixie Dugan's talent is apparent. She is an artist, and her gifts glow no matter the medium. Acrylic, oil, watercolor and mosaic paper collage obey her creative demands to produce wonders at will.
"I started painting in elementary school," said Dugan, 80. "It was in the fourth grade that I knew I had the ability to draw that none of the children had. I had something that other kids couldn't do. I embellished on it." Seventeen of Dugan's works of art are being featured in the Provenance fall show in New York. The art agency, which is based in Boston, will feature Dugan's art and the pieces of three other artists on Oct. 25.
"I first met Dixie at Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston in 2005, and her work had a lasting impression on me," said Audrey Fenton, owner and manager of Provenance. Dugan is certainly one who knows how to impress people.< "I want people to get involved with my paintings and not just be passers-by," Dugan said. "I want them to look and not just walk away. I want them to see the different details I've done."
As a little girl growing up in Chicago, she would barter with teachers and other students to get passing grades and homework done. There was once a boy who couldn't draw. So Dugan drew his geography map for him in exchange for him doing her math homework. She still hates math. "I could draw anything," said Dugan while surrounded by paintings that will be featured in the New York show. "I drew the bulletin board for teachers. Anything they needed me to draw, I did it because honestly I wasn't a great student."
A tour of her Myrtle Beach home reveals Dugan's talent has not dulled but has become more intense and beautiful. Two Grumbacher Gold Medals, one of the most esteemed awards in arts, attest to her brilliance. "I know this is a gift from God because I can't sing," said Dugan, who has taught painting and drawing for more than 20 years in the Myrtle Beach area. No two Dugan works are alike. Each is distinctively different and tells its own unique story. "Amazing Grace" is a rendering of a Gullah gospel singer she made from countless pieces of paper shaded in various hues. Unless told, folks easily mistake the image of the woman holding a tambourine and dressed impeccably in pastel dress with a matching head wrap as one conceived by the use of paints. There is no paint at all though; only pieces of paper - some as tiny as confetti and some as large as a thumb - Dugan has cut or torn out and then meticulously pasted onto a sketch. The process is painstakingly beautiful and requires discipline and patience.
Accolades are not unusual for Dugan, who has won hundreds of awards, and dozens of ribbons hang from the wall of her workroom. There are plenty of blue ribbons denoting first place and other ribbons proclaiming she was the best of the best at festivals or the most grand of exhibits. Giftedness comes with a price. "This is not a hobby," Dugan said. "You sleep all day if it's a hobby. I don't do the things women do. I hate to shop, and the only time I dress up is for church on Sunday. I've got some dresses that are 21 years old."
What is older is her name change of 45 years ago. Her name was something else, but she will not say what. "I will never tell," said Dugan, who was given her name by a former boss who told her she reminded him of Dixie Dugan, which was a cartoon character in a comic strip of the same name by McEvoy and Striebel. When she worships at First Methodist Church in Myrtle Beach, she will draw pictures of members and clergy. The habit annoys one particular member, but Dugan ignores her criticism. "If they say something important, I write it down," said Dugan as she flipped through the pages of her drawing journal, which has various sermon notes and nuggets of wisdom written in front and the back.
In 1993, Dugan was hired by the defense to draw during the Ken Register trial. Register, then 18, was convicted of the 1991 stabbing of his friend and former girlfriend, Crystal Faye Todd, who was a 17-year-old Conway High School senior. Register was given life in prison, although he declared his innocence. "I thought he was guilty as hell," said Dugan, who spent 11 days in court during Register's trial. "His expression never changed, even as they were describing the murder." Most of her work is inspired by joy, not pain.
Mothers with daughters, Japanese carp on the back of a kimono, romantic visions of wine and storied hands weaving sweetgrass baskets. Her foray into mosaic paper collage occurred after a automobile collision in 1999 that left her body broken and prevented her from using watercolors. "I couldn't think about watercolors so the hospital [employees] brought me some paper to cut out," said Dugan, who moved to Myrtle Beach in 1966 when her husband was transferred by the Defense Department. Slithers of images from magazines, including The Smithsonian and National Geographic, became expressions of love, triumph, cultural snapshots and other the themes come to life through Dugan's hands.
Her daughter, Susan Dugan, is now mostly responsible for fetching exotic paper for her mother as she travels in her job as a college photograpy instructor. "The manner in which she layers pieces of origami and rice paper to convey light, depth, movement and emotion are inspiring," Fenton said. "Her wide range of subject and vibrant palette keep the viewer guessing what to expect next. We are thrilled to have her participate in our fall show."
Prize-winning artist's work in New York show
By Johanna D. Wilson - jwilson@thesunnews.com
Undeniable beauty is here.
On white walls inside golden frames and on canvas emblazoned in color, Dixie Dugan's talent is apparent. She is an artist, and her gifts glow no matter the medium. Acrylic, oil, watercolor and mosaic paper collage obey her creative demands to produce wonders at will.
"I started painting in elementary school," said Dugan, 80. "It was in the fourth grade that I knew I had the ability to draw that none of the children had. I had something that other kids couldn't do. I embellished on it." Seventeen of Dugan's works of art are being featured in the Provenance fall show in New York. The art agency, which is based in Boston, will feature Dugan's art and the pieces of three other artists on Oct. 25.
"I first met Dixie at Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston in 2005, and her work had a lasting impression on me," said Audrey Fenton, owner and manager of Provenance. Dugan is certainly one who knows how to impress people.< "I want people to get involved with my paintings and not just be passers-by," Dugan said. "I want them to look and not just walk away. I want them to see the different details I've done."
As a little girl growing up in Chicago, she would barter with teachers and other students to get passing grades and homework done. There was once a boy who couldn't draw. So Dugan drew his geography map for him in exchange for him doing her math homework. She still hates math. "I could draw anything," said Dugan while surrounded by paintings that will be featured in the New York show. "I drew the bulletin board for teachers. Anything they needed me to draw, I did it because honestly I wasn't a great student."
A tour of her Myrtle Beach home reveals Dugan's talent has not dulled but has become more intense and beautiful. Two Grumbacher Gold Medals, one of the most esteemed awards in arts, attest to her brilliance. "I know this is a gift from God because I can't sing," said Dugan, who has taught painting and drawing for more than 20 years in the Myrtle Beach area. No two Dugan works are alike. Each is distinctively different and tells its own unique story. "Amazing Grace" is a rendering of a Gullah gospel singer she made from countless pieces of paper shaded in various hues. Unless told, folks easily mistake the image of the woman holding a tambourine and dressed impeccably in pastel dress with a matching head wrap as one conceived by the use of paints. There is no paint at all though; only pieces of paper - some as tiny as confetti and some as large as a thumb - Dugan has cut or torn out and then meticulously pasted onto a sketch. The process is painstakingly beautiful and requires discipline and patience.
Accolades are not unusual for Dugan, who has won hundreds of awards, and dozens of ribbons hang from the wall of her workroom. There are plenty of blue ribbons denoting first place and other ribbons proclaiming she was the best of the best at festivals or the most grand of exhibits. Giftedness comes with a price. "This is not a hobby," Dugan said. "You sleep all day if it's a hobby. I don't do the things women do. I hate to shop, and the only time I dress up is for church on Sunday. I've got some dresses that are 21 years old."
What is older is her name change of 45 years ago. Her name was something else, but she will not say what. "I will never tell," said Dugan, who was given her name by a former boss who told her she reminded him of Dixie Dugan, which was a cartoon character in a comic strip of the same name by McEvoy and Striebel. When she worships at First Methodist Church in Myrtle Beach, she will draw pictures of members and clergy. The habit annoys one particular member, but Dugan ignores her criticism. "If they say something important, I write it down," said Dugan as she flipped through the pages of her drawing journal, which has various sermon notes and nuggets of wisdom written in front and the back.
In 1993, Dugan was hired by the defense to draw during the Ken Register trial. Register, then 18, was convicted of the 1991 stabbing of his friend and former girlfriend, Crystal Faye Todd, who was a 17-year-old Conway High School senior. Register was given life in prison, although he declared his innocence. "I thought he was guilty as hell," said Dugan, who spent 11 days in court during Register's trial. "His expression never changed, even as they were describing the murder." Most of her work is inspired by joy, not pain.
Mothers with daughters, Japanese carp on the back of a kimono, romantic visions of wine and storied hands weaving sweetgrass baskets. Her foray into mosaic paper collage occurred after a automobile collision in 1999 that left her body broken and prevented her from using watercolors. "I couldn't think about watercolors so the hospital [employees] brought me some paper to cut out," said Dugan, who moved to Myrtle Beach in 1966 when her husband was transferred by the Defense Department. Slithers of images from magazines, including The Smithsonian and National Geographic, became expressions of love, triumph, cultural snapshots and other the themes come to life through Dugan's hands.
Her daughter, Susan Dugan, is now mostly responsible for fetching exotic paper for her mother as she travels in her job as a college photograpy instructor. "The manner in which she layers pieces of origami and rice paper to convey light, depth, movement and emotion are inspiring," Fenton said. "Her wide range of subject and vibrant palette keep the viewer guessing what to expect next. We are thrilled to have her participate in our fall show."
