Dee Sidwell Fine Art

This year I celebrate 50 years since I learned to paint from my Great Aunt Sally and also became a mother, it was a big year for me. After that,I painted a lot and took commissions when I could get them while my children were young. After they started school I began attending college where I studied Chemistry and a did a minor in art. I worked as a research chemist for a decade or so and then my husband and I operated a family plant nursery for a couple of decades. Nowadays I’m a full time artist and enjoy exploring the mountains, meadows and forests around my home in Oakridge and visiting the glorious coast as often as possible.

My approach to painting has changed over the years, now that I can paint without thinking about it much I find that I am in the studio with a feeling about a painting more than an image in my mind. It’s almost like when you are trying to think of the right word to place in a sentence but can’t quite reach it (that is happening to me a lot now) it’s very slippery and ephemeral. So I just start painting something that I remember seeing on a recent hike and the feelings take over with no place to go but the canvas. Color is a remarkably effective way to express feelings and it is the most enjoyable and least damaging way I have found to do it!

Painting – Oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, and fresco.