My name is Michael Dinning and I am an artist in Spokane, Washington. I am a graduate of Washington State University, where I studied sculpture, lithography and art history. Upon graduation I pursued an artistic career in Seattle, working primarily as a painter, until I took a long pause, a ten year pause to be exact, to move to Spokane, get married, and start a family. A couple of years ago I shifted gears again and restarted my artistic career, now creating primarily mixed media wall pieces and sculptural screens. I feel that the essence and mystery of life is defined by the interplay of those things seen, and those that are not. I have long been intrigued by the idea of trying to depict things that are hidden. My creative process embraces this idea. I utilize a variety of underpainting techniques, which gives depth to the painted image, and as a way to give a nod to the complexity that lies under a common skin. I use a writing process to generate imagery and to focus my vision for a piece, and often include this writing in the finished work to add depth and clarity to the total image. I also like to show all of the hardware used to construct the artwork, and use the nuts and bolts of creation as artistic elements. In this way those things normally hidden during the creative process become part of the finished artwork, hopefully furthering the artistic aims of the piece, as well as grounding the artwork in the constructive process. I have always felt that painting and sculpture are, along with the creative vision, something to be built, and my love of that constructive process drives my work as much as realizing a coherent, complex and compelling artistic expression. I love to build things, and creating artwork to me is an incredibly creative and satisfying act of construction.
© Michael Dinning | Artist Biography, Artworks & Gallery | www.michaeldinning.com
