Dee Shippelhute, an artist living in Chatham, has twice traveled to China to study painting. In 2008, she had a residency at Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in Tianjin and a few years later another residency at Sichuan University in Chengdu. Her painting Sunburst, currently on view at Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown, reflects this experience. Hans Hofmann is another influence.
Shippelhute’s interest in Hofmann led her to the Outer Cape Art Collective. Initially led by Laura Shabott, the group has an affinity for Hofmann’s legacy of art and teaching. This community reignited Shippelhute’s desire to paint after a prolonged break. —Antonia DaSilva
Q: What medium do you gravitate toward?
I love oil, but I also use acrylic. For Sunburst, I used acrylic paint on cotton paper that I got while I was in China. It absorbs paint and ink nicely. I really enjoy using India ink as well. I started with the yellow acrylic paint and then used a spray bottle filled with black ink. I also sometimes use the dropper in the ink bottle to make marks.
Q: Do you often work monochromatically?
It varies. Sometimes I work with one color in the background and then use another color to bring something forward in the piece. In Sunburst, the darker yellow around the perimeter brings you into the center of the piece, and then the black pushes you back out to the edges. The contrast between the yellow and the black is severe. It’s almost as though the sun is there — it’s a new beginning — and then there’s a splatter of black. The black is an explosion of energy blasting through the yellow. The specks are like seeds or DNA falling through to the Earth.
Q: Where do your color choices come from?
My color choices depend on a mood or feeling. Some days you wake up and don’t feel as energized. The process of painting gives you the energy you need. Sometimes when you pick up a tube of paint, you just know that color is right for the painting in front of you. I don’t always use yellow, but it was my son’s favorite color, and it’s bright and friendly. I also used red in Sunburst because it’s another vibrant color, and I like its romantic association. I tend to gravitate toward vibrant colors.
Q: This piece is very abstract, but I see the appearance of a creature like those that often appear in your work.
I love making little creatures. They’re my little creatures. They come from within me. I think it comes from doodling all my life. I love to share these creatures with other people. In Sunburst, the abstraction draws you in, and then you see this little creature on the side. People don’t tend to look at a painting for very long unless you are able to draw them in. The creature keeps you looking.
Q: What feeling do you hope viewers have when they look at this painting?
Each person who looks at a painting sees something different based on their own experiences, but I hope they see a little bit of what I feel in the piece. I think it’s an inspiring, feel-good painting. If the viewer walks away with a little bit of this, then I have been able to pass on some of my own experience.
