JENNIFER DIEHL
Oregon Explored
Jennifer Diehl follows the light. It can be the way it reflects off the glass and metal of a saltshaker, it flows from the windows of business open at night or it saturates a landscape. The light itself is more interesting to her, it seems, than the subjects themselves. Yet, her paintings are lyrical narratives, recalling memories or inviting new appreciation for everyday scenes.
Her parents are artists and she began drawing when she was very young. They acquainted her with the basics but introduced her to impressionist painter Henry Stinson, who became her mentor. She has studied with some of the leading artist-teachers and has come into her own as a painter. She says, simply, “For me, light and color are the reasons I paint!”
Diehl’s latest paintings will be in the exhibition Oregon Explored opening January 4 at Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon.
Scoot Scoot is a prime example of her love of light and color with its blue scooter with orange lights standing in dappled sun and shade. Her compositions are active rather than passive causing the eye to travel through them from detail to detail rather than perceiving one compositional
whole. In Scoot Scoot the eye might start with the old-fashioned wire basket, travel to the highlighted spokes of the rear wheel and on to the scooter’s shadow. Diehl paints with confidence in her craft, which allows her to express her feelings about what she sees. Advising artists, she says, “The fact that it looks like a tree, or a
“Jennifer Diehl is a wonderful artist and a fantastic storyteller. Her lush and colorful paintings are a bit of a hybrid expression, falling somewhere between impressionistic and illustrative with both contemporary and traditional roots in play.” — Jim Peterson, owner, Mockingbird Gallery
building is of less importance, because if we cared about that, we could take a picture. You are supposed to be saying more than a snapshot can say. You are bringing what you see to the canvas. Why are you painting this particular scene?”