Pat Dunning
Artist’s bio
As a child, I was always drawing and painting. My parents told me that I inherited my artistic talent from my relatives, who painted beautiful rustic scenes of the Wisconsin woods. Living in Northern Wisconsin, nature has always been one of the inspiration for my artwork. In elementary school I did colored chalk drawings on the black board on various holidays, and in high school, I was the art editor for the school's yearbook.
After high school, I moved to Chicago, and attended the University of Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago. At the University of Chicago, I studied fine arts, and at the Art Institute of Chicago, I studied under Professor Juhre', a well-known French artist at the Institute at that time. As an art student, I had the honor of having one of my nude charcoal drawings selected to hang in an exhibition at the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House. This was the beginning of a total (to date) of 32 group exhibitions and 5 solo exhibitions in galleries in MD, DC, VA; plus, works in private collections.
After moving to Pittsburgh, I took a fine arts (minor) at the University of Pittsburgh. As a single parent I realized that I couldn’t support my children with a career in fine arts, and given my desire to know more about the mysteries of the mind and human behavior, I pursued a doctorate in psychology. I divided my time between painting, working as a student advisor at Pitt, while taking classes at night, and caring for my children. In addition, I started and directed “The Artists’ Gallery.” a cooperative artists' gallery, directed the East Liberty Arts Program with visual and performing artists; plus, I taught Yoga to supplement my income as a student advisor at Pitt. I finally got my doctorate, but suffered a near nervous breakdown due to the stress of trying to be "supermom."
Later, I moved to Maryland, got remarried and in a months’ time, I learned that I had breast cancer in my right breast. My experience with the "C" word have made an indelible mark on my paintings that would ironically prove to be an inspiration for my work. One of the well-known DC art critics, Eugene (Gene) Markowitz (Who’s Who in Art), commenting on my work as it related to my cancer experience: “Pat Dunning’s highly emotionally-charged abstract paintings, are, without question, a directory to the artist’s internal struggles with a life/death battle hidden behind the facades of her tranquil physical presence. As documents to a dynamic inner creative energy, the larger than life images discharge anger, hostility, and self-pity; as well, as a sexuality of startling proportions.”
Later I was introduced to Maryland’s “Native American Indian Piscataway Nation, and their philosophy that we are all related, we are all one, and that the earth, Mother earth, symbolized by the snake, is connected to us. The symbol of earth, the snake, appears as a flowing line across several of my paintings, e.g., Summer Solstice.
I faced death again with cervical cancer, as well as the death of both of my parents, and my paintings continue as a metaphor for life in my painting, "Illusion and Reality," I have worked on the connections between life and death, the "real" world and the "illusion." In my mixed-media painting, "Dante's Inferno," which one a first prize, we see the connection between heaven and hell. which is illustrated through the red canvas bridge over the dammed impasto souls. These paintings are somewhat disturbing due to primarily to the bold and unexpected use of color, which the DC art critic, Barbara Vogt, Director of Public Relations for the Galleries of DuPont Circle in DC, wrote: “Beyond the immediate impasto surface of Pat’s abstract works on canvas, the juxtaposition of hard edges against soft, hot and cold colors, non-painterly objects such as stones, shells, sand, melted metals onto the canvas, she reaches for subconscious mind images expressed through the dynamic tension crated by her contrasts, demanding colors and balanced compositions.”
I took a hiatus from painting after I was in the hospital having been scalded by a very sick person, and turned to healing my body with my yoga. And after studying under an Indian guru, and with my yoga certification, and spending some time in an Indian Ashram. I taught, and am still teaching group yoga, and private yoga therapy, using my yoga and psychology education, training after moving to Myrtle Beach, and wouldn’t you know it, the ugly “C” word popped up its ugly head in my vocabulary again—breast cancer in my left breast which was found two years ago. Again, I was blessed by God’s healing grace and survived this battle as well.
Given this experience and my persistent theme of life and death, I felt a deep need to return to painting again, and to be part of the art community that I miss. As such, having heard about Vision Arts Gallery from one of its current exhibiting artists, I decided to apply to be considered for eligibility as a juried artist member in the Vision Arts Gallery.
Artist’s statement
This biography is a personal journey through my life’s experiences as they were/are revealed in my artwork. A description of my art education, exhibits, professional organizations, etc., can be found in my Artist’s Resume (available upon request).
