Artist's Biography

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D M Bass is an author-artist creating fine art and artful fiction in CO. Her fine art, expressed through oil painting, explores her subjects in many ways and styles. She has a fondness for painting colorful fruits and vegetables, houses and plants rooted in time or season, and collections of household items. She employs cakes to tell stories. Current themes in her still life work use plastics and embroidery-like embellishment to represent aspects of globalism.  She holds a degree in architecture and a minor in English with a concentration in deconstructionist poetry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She holds an MBA from CU Denver. Her art education comes from studying and practicing architecture alongside a lifelong passion for drawing and painting. She's a regular participant in the contemporary artist Rob Gratiot's "Developing Your Own Style..." classes at the Arts Students League of Denver. Her past artwork can be found in homes in Virginia, Washington DC, Florida, Texas, and Colorado. 

Being an artist means being a keen observer to me. One who notices, seeks to understand, and shares their experiences in insightful ways. 

I’ve created artistic works for many audiences; through writing, drawing, painting, architecture, landscape design, stained glass, ceramics, and collages. But no medium speaks to me as enduringly as oil paint. None is more eloquent. 

My oil paintings are inspired by what I see and touch directly. Favorite subjects are beautiful interplays of color and form that tell a story. Their compositions are drawn or blocked onto my canvases in traditional ways. The process thereafter is back and forth of applying color, emphasizing relationships, and defining the edges that express the likeness of my subjects. I am constantly challenged to improve the speed in which I draw and paint to capture a moment before it is gone. 

As my own art critic, I judge by whether my subjects are equally well-rendered and enlivened by their compositions. Meaning, I challenge myself to draw/paint "horses" as well as "tables", and "people" as well as "houses". Compositions should elevate their subjects in some way.  

Profits made from selling my artwork and artful products go towards supporting other artists, gardens, historic buildings, and educational opportunities.  I no longer do commissions.

I hope you find inspiration in my oil paintings! D M Bass