Featured Artist Dawn Kureshy

Abstract painter Dawn Kureshy uses the whole universe as her inspiration. Enjoy her portfolio and see more of her work by visiting her website.

 

 

As an artist, if my paintings have a mission, it is this: to convey a peaceful, intriguing, vibrant energy to the viewer.

 

 

Working with the medium of acrylic is ideal for my style which involves multiple layers of texture and color, followed by scraping and more layers as images emerge. Acrylic dries quickly, so I can lay on a thick layer of paint and add texture. I frequently write into the wet paint affirmations which become an integral although illegible textural component of all my paintings.

 

 

I was born in the Midwest and grew up in a suburb of St Louis where I was encouraged to study to get a “real job”.  After graduating from University of Missouri at Kansas City with a BS in Medical Technology, I had a successful career in laboratory science and later sales and sales management.

 

 

I have always been pulled towards creativity and painting, and took classes at the San Diego Art Department, where I began weekly classes taught by San Diego Artist Ari Kate Ashton. This was a turning point as Kate encouraged me to move beyond the safety net of representational work that I was attempting and come out onto the ledge with abstract work.  Kate describes my style as “fearless and infused with energy”.  My style is that of an abstract expressionist, often creating ethereal images.

 

 

Inspiration for my work evolved from a fascination with images of our universe taken from the Hubble telescope. I have always been fascinated with the sky, day or night.  Looking at astronomy websites, I began finding these awesome images from our universe such as solar flares, nebulae and the Milky way.

 

 

After too many attempts to create representational paintings from these photos, I let go of my ego-driven need to recreate a photographic image and the creative spirit took over. The results are “universal abstracts” inspired by real life images of our cosmos. The lesson is that the best things happen when we are able to let of ego and an expectation of what the painting should become.

 

 

My work has been juried into many regional exhibits at the Museum of the Living Artist in San Diego. Recently the painting “Venus Envy” was selected for the San Diego Art Institutes’ 51^st Annual International Exhibition.