Mingus And The Dames

a German barn owl

Jennifer and me, 1986.

About The Artist

I was born on March 11th, in Florida. My parents named me Marjorie Dearstone Dickinson. At 5, my grandmother, Mary Helen Dickinson taught me to paint at her kitchen table. Her mint green supply cabinet rests in my kitchen today.

I am a poet finishing up the final drafts of a manuscript for my first book. After high school, I attended Barnard College, Columbia University where I spent my time getting a French Literature degree and taking painting, sculpture, photography, and printmaking classes.

After College, I attended the Florida School of Massage and subsequently became a licensed massage therapist and certified hand and foot reflexologist.

Thanks for visiting my site. Please feel free to post your questions or comments and stay tuned for future posts.

Detail taken from Qui N'a Plus Qu'un Moment A Vivre

N'a Plus Rien A Dissimuler, 2005.

original work, 17'' x 18''

oil pastel, acrylic, ink, charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, and colored marker on watercolor paper

_______


Den Tod,
den du mir schuldig bliebst, ich
trag ihn
aus.

The death
you still owe me, I
carry it
out.

You and

others have visited this site recently!

Paintings

Like an old loblolly pine, my paintings take forever to grow, spiraling and layering out. For example, Love and Magic (shown below) probably took thirty + hours of intense work to complete. I do not and will not ever create conveyor paintings to please others and get sold because for me, they skim the surface. It takes great patience to work your way through the layers of images and thoughts that come up and together, create the world of a single piece. It takes time to hack through the kudzu and overgrowths of twisty branches and brambles. Sometimes years to find that nest deep in the armpit of an old tree where all of this singing is coming from. How I deal with my ideas, as well as the external elements of my own life that occur as I'm creating a piece, all affect the final outcome. I have recently been using my dreams as guides for what my paintings want to say and show.

Unfinished Business

2006

9'' x 12.2''

acrylic, ink, and graphite on watercolor paper

Mimi's House with Redbug Disco Inset,

Illustration from The Last Words of My Southern Grandmother

2000

9.5'' x 13''

acrylic and ink on paper

Detail from above

(The Redbug disco)

Love and Magic

2004

8'' x 10''

acrylic on canvas

Detail from my latest work in progress



Close-up: St. Francis's skull



Complete work measures 2.5' x 3'

Photographs

Stella with Stuffed Bear
2001
6.5 in. x 9.5 in.





A Chat with Grandma
2002
6.5'' x 9.5''





Her Legs in Sand
2000
4.5 in. x 7 in.

Intaglio Etchings

(Click on images to see them close-up)

Que Les Loups Se Vivent du Vent

2003

dry point and aquatint on steel








The Journey Home

2003

drypoint proof

*Click on us! We like to get a good look at who's disturbing us.
-the skeletons (les skelettes)

A Tribute to Friar's Bobby

2003

drypoint and aquatint



























detail

Etchings - Details

Arrête, C'est Ici L'Empire de la Mort! *

(Behold, This Is The Empire of Death!)

*Inscription as it is written above the entrance to the catacombes in Paris, France

The Early Years

Two Snails in Love
1987
crayon and marker on paper

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (A Lesson in Rainbows)

1987

colored marker on paper with artist's own tear stain

Haunted Barn

1986

watercolor on watercolor paper

I used to take my watercolor set into the bathroom and paint my entire body. Here I am showing it off.

The Very Early Years

March 12, 1981

One day old.
















Scribbles
1982
crayon on a page from the book,
Baby Farm Animals .