Painting for me is like breathing — I can’t live without it. When I was eleven years old I decided to be a fine artist after I painted a portrait of an imaginary little boy. The excitement of working in oils and the freedom of expression so took me that I never stopped painting.

For years I painted portraits of actors. I used photos I took off the television and became quite adept at portraying facial expressions. I attended classes at the Art Students League, School of Visual Arts and New York University, as well as several life drawing workshops weekly, while living in SoHo, New York City.

I lived in England for awhile. The historical Abbey and Castle ruins spread throughout the country became a new subject matter for me, having only painted people. I worked in pastel on paper and oil on canvas, again using my own photographs as reference. I love the English theatre and saw many plays. This gave me an opportunity to meet actors and photograph them. I had two solo exhibitions of my paintings of actors while I lived in London.

I lived in Seattle from June 1989 to January 1991. In Washington State the awesome power of nature overwhelms the cities. It inspired me to paint nature as frequently as people. I also had two solo exhibitions in Seattle.

After returning to New York I was diagnosed with the cancer lymphoma. During the illness and treatment, my subjects were my dreams, hospital images, my doctors,  and myself during treatment. I ended with a set of works I called The Lymphoma Series. This grew into a book, Myself Resolved: An Artist Confronts Cancer, and a video, Healing Through Art, based on presentations I gave around the USA for cancer survivors and health professionals.

Painting in series, I continue to create themes. Currently I am at work on a series I call "Shimmera". The works are of a nude figure moving through layers of colors and light, creating a transparent quality -  a shimmering effect.

I continue to work on my "Europe and Beyond" series, a body of work reflecting the travels my husband and I take each year.

See my list of Publications and Exhibitions. My work continues to explore the fascination I have with healing, change, growth and the very essence of life in all things around us.

Send a note to darcy@darcyartist.com if you're interested in my upcoming shows:

Darcy Lynn