Some artists are distinguished by their choice of subjects, others by how they render them. Anne Diggory is one of those exciting artists who goes beyond the boundaries of nature to define unique subjects and then render them in way that is distinctly all her own.
Her process involves several steps and media, where first she works to create reference paintings and photos of a real place. Adding from her imagination, while manipulating the references pieces through photoshop and stitching programs, she creates a unified artwork that is only loosely based on the original scene. The resulting image often looks familiar because it borrows from what we all see, but it takes you someplace new and better, as though nature itself has evolved to the next level of natural perfection.
Diggory often studies the same imagined location from a variety of angles using mixed media to produce multiple final paintings. "Spindrift II," painted in 2009, is an example of what Diggory likes to refer to as a ‘hybrid’ painting, using this multistage technique combining sketches and photos and using computer technology for a primary image, which she then paints over for the final composition. This was one of a series of paintings composed over the previous summer as Diggory studied the daily tidal formations gently sculpting the sand bars in Sag Harbor on Long Island, NY.
The sizes vary from very large to very small. The subject matter varies from panoramic landscapes to arrangements of objects in the studio. “I use a lot of realistic detail in my work along with more abstract, open ended areas,” Diggory explains. “My paintings and drawings are done about 80% on site. The details are based on my observations but are transformed to serve the artwork and the portrayal of the energy and light - using the visible to convey the invisible.”
Diggory is a native of upstate New York who lives in Saratoga Springs, Her studio, in what was once the formal living room of an 1848 Greek Revival house, was one of those featured on the open studio tour at the recent Saratoga Arts Fest (along with David Arsenault, another Saratoga artist). While the studio is not open to the public year-round, those interested in learning more about Diggory’s technique can see the process on her website.
This summer, her Sentinels of the Course series is on display in the lobby of the Saratoga National Golf Club. The panoramic Hudson River mural she designed for the Albany Institute of History and Art is in their lobby through January 2, 2011. Visitors to the museum can add to the mural. Two permanent murals are in the lobby of the Adirondack Trust Bank branch on Route 50 at Northline Road and a 22-foot waterfall mural is in the back stairway of the main branch of the bank in Saratoga Springs.
Diggory is definitely one of hot artists of the Adirondack region, and it is interesting to watch her keep reinventing herself and her art.
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