Artist Statement:

As an artist my motivation is to capture a sense of place, specifically, the landscapes of Montana. I want to express an appreciation for these natural spaces and to emphasize the need to invest in wise stewardship of them. My subject matter is drawn from experiencing the land personally through decades of living and working on ranches throughout Montana as well as trekking through its wilderness rivers, mountains and open spaces.

 

I am drawn to vibrancy of color and play of light upon the elements of land and wildlife. Rich colors are important to me. No gray skies or dull color schemes. I work mainly with a primary color palette; reds, blues and yellows adding neutrals to create variation. This allows me to invent fresh original colors for each piece, blending pigment on palette and canvas while the paint is wet. I work in acrylic, oil and watercolor, permitting me flexibility. I like variety.

 

Paintings are ongoing discoveries, building on what I already know or what I think I know about painting, while offering permission to risk, learn and try something new. I’m always learning. This presents freedom to explore nuances of color or new techniques. The Impressionists, both historic and contemporary, have influenced my recent works. I enjoy looking at how other artists blend colors into smooth or textured transitions.

 

 As Montana's open spaces continue to decrease in our changing communities, it’s my hope to inspire the need to invest in their quality and sustainable. Nature is a gift from God and it's our responsibility to steward it well for longevity.

 

 About Artist and Other Works:

Dolan lives & works in Gallatin Valley area of Bozeman/Belgrade, MT. She also enjoys working with clay.  "The sense of creating forms with my hands and clay from the earth is exhilarating and grounding to the land and our Creator." Her functional art extends to twig tables, inspired by the early 1900's twig furniture era, utilizing native twigs of black birch, aspen, willow, chokecherry and dogwood topped off with her custom designed ceramic tiles and found river stones. 

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Education: 

Bachelor degree: Education & Art: University of Montana, Western, 1998

MFA - Integrated Fine Arts: University of MT, Missoula 2009

Full-time public and private school art teacher,  1998-2014.

At present, freelance artist and art educator 

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