{"id":53052,"date":"2025-01-28T10:57:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T10:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/art\/quiet-conversations-artists-network\/"},"modified":"2025-01-28T10:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T10:57:11","slug":"quiet-conversations-artists-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=53052","title":{"rendered":"Quiet Conversations | Artists Network"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u2713<\/span>Showcase your talent and win big in Artists Network prestigious art competitions! Discover competitions in a variety of media and enter for your chance to win cash prizes, publication in leading art magazines, global exposure, and rewards for your hard work. Plus, gain valuable feedback from renowned jurors. Let your passion shine through – enter an art competition<\/a> today!<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Melissa DiNino captures the powerful yet silent communion she finds between humans, horses and the landscape.<\/h2>\n

by Kristin Hoerth<\/p>\n

This article is a short excerpt of a feature article which appears in the Spring 2025 issue of <\/em>Watercolor Artist. Read the rest of the article\u2014and discover other inspiring artist features and columns\u2014in the print <\/a>or digital edition<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

When it comes to portraying horses and figures, self-taught artist Melissa DiNino takes a somewhat unusual approach. \u201cHistorically, horses haven\u2019t always been depicted in the most humane ways,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I look at certain paintings of them, I see signs of pain and fear. I want to present the human-horse relationship in a way that feels more compassionate. I try to be very conscientious about the subtleties in their expressions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Amber + Irish<\/em> (watercolor on paper, 15\u00d722)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DiNino often crafts compositions in which horses and women are interacting in original yet natural ways. In works like Reverie<\/em> and Liberation<\/em>, for example, a woman lying in a field gently reaches her hand toward a horse standing above her. The pose evokes a strong sense of relaxed connection and mutual trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The artist also conjures a compelling balance in her work between quietness and drama. \u201cI\u2019ve lived in vast rural landscapes by myself and there\u2019s a great deal of silence,\u201d she says. \u201cAt the same time, there\u2019s always some sort of conversation happening between humans, horses and the landscape. I like to narrow in on that quiet communion people might miss or might not know how to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Carried on Her Back<\/em> (watercolor on paper, 22\u00d730)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keeping It Simple<\/h4>\n

The artist\u2019s creative process begins with a photography session to gather reference material. Sometimes she has a specific idea in mind, but not always. \u201cI need the photos because I love to capture the light,\u201d she says. \u201cI also want to paint a certain level of detail that I don\u2019t trust my mind to hang onto.\u201d She\u2019ll often use Adobe software to make a few adjustments to her reference photo, such as tweaking the background to her liking.<\/p>\n

Working on her trusty drafting table, DiNino\u2019s next step is to create a rough, freehand pencil sketch on Arches 300-pound, cold-pressed watercolor paper. Then it\u2019s time to mix her paint. She limits her palette to five colors (cobalt blue, burnt sienna, Chinese white, yellow ochre and alizarin crimson) and prefers Grumbacher Academy watercolors. \u201cI still use the same brand of paints that I bought the first time I went to a Michaels store for materials,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes I\u2019m tempted to experiment with other brands, but I\u2019ve been very happy with this one.\u201d For brushes, she relies on Rosemary & Co. sable pointed rounds in various sizes. \u201cFor detail work, I\u2019ve got some of the tiniest brushes you can find,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

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Resonance<\/em> (watercolor on paper, 30\u00d717)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The artist describes herself as \u201ca slow, methodical painter.\u201d She often works wet-on-dry, especially when it comes to more detailed parts of her compositions. She also does a lot of glazing, adding many layers to get as much depth and dimension as possible. Her smallest pieces might involve about a week of work, while her largest can take a month or two, depending on their complexity.<\/p>\n

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Reverie<\/em> (watercolor on paper, 30\u00d722)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Liberation<\/em> (watercolor on paper, 22\u00d715)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A New Adventure<\/h4>\n

These days, DiNino is learning to speak the language of an entirely new landscape: the Northwoods of Wisconsin, along the south shore of Lake Superior, where her husband\u2019s family owns land. The couple moved there in late 2023, and hope to build a home and studio of their own before long. \u201cMy work has always stemmed from the landscape I\u2019ve lived in and the experiences I\u2019ve shared there with people and animals,\u201d says DiNino. \u201cI\u2019m in the process of adjusting how I see the world, and I\u2019m eager to discover what that will mean for my work going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/h4>\n

Kristin Hoerth is a freelance arts writer and the former editor-in-chief of Southwest Art<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n

About the Artist<\/h4>\n

Melissa DiNino <\/a>is a self-taught watercolorist. After earning a degree in biology and a certificate in conflict resolution, she spent years working as a biologist and range rider to mitigate livestock-predator conflict before turning her attention to fine art, in 2018. Her works have won awards in numerous competitions and been shown in exhibitions across the United States, as well as publications such as Big Sky Journal and Southwest Art<\/em>. DiNino is represented by Mixx Atelier, in Telluride, Colo., and Ghost Ship Gallery, in Washburn and Bayfield, Wis.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2713Showcase your talent and win big in Artists Network prestigious art competitions! Discover competitions in a variety of media and enter for your chance to win cash prizes, publication in leading art magazines, global exposure, and rewards for your hard work. Plus, gain valuable feedback from renowned jurors. Let your passion shine through – enter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[7742,15587,9809,8992,30893],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-53052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-artists","tag-conversations","tag-network","tag-quiet","tag-watercolor-artist"],"yoast_head":"\nQuiet Conversations | Artists Network - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=53052\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Quiet Conversations | Artists Network - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2713Showcase your talent and win big in Artists Network prestigious art competitions! 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