by Diana Savostaite Artist’s Statement Inspiration / BackgroundI believe that painting has much broader role than just being a visual experience; it communicates in an emotional, metaphysical, and sensual language in a distinctively subtle way. My paintings act like a visual diary of daily experiences, where I gather diverse fragments of the world around me and find emotion in the ordinary. I am continuously inspired by observing surroundings, absorbing everything that I see, hear, or feel, capturing the sensual moments of now, exploring how surroundings resonate with me personally. I can be triggered by the smallest details in landscape, city environment, or memories of my childhood experiences. Lithuanian background has undoubtedly influenced my subconscious choice of colours green and blue. I spent my childhood exploring the natural world and my creative expression is strongly linked to the early experiences of Lithuanian countryside: walking on bare feet and sensing hot sand or cold dew from the grass; swimming in the wild lakes; being surrounded by nature sounds; observing the night sky with millions of stars, or adoring glowing snow in the sunshine. Artistic Process / Shaped CanvasesOnce I start my painting – it constantly evolves and changes. I love when painting process is flowing without overthinking about the subject. I don’t hold to the initial idea if I see that an artwork has the ability to grow into something completely different then I planned. My desire for paintings to communicate in an intuitive way led to search for different mediums, textures, brush marks. Thin pigment washes are combined with thick layers of oil paint; linear figure drawings intertwine with constructive shapes or elements of landscape; paintings are multi-layered, which creating the sense of complexity, movement, and spontaneity. My latest practice involves a lot of time spent thinking / sketching different canvas shapes and compositions, then building them in the studio. Irregular canvases allow more possibilities to express myself, they become directives to the painting and allow for different energies. Canvas shapes extend and invade the space around them, and the surrounding space invades canvas. Multi-panelled paintings tell a continuous story through complementing each other. Because they have no precise rectangular borders, they seem to be in a constant motion and have the ability to transform.
