Artist Misty Dempsey shares a luscious portfolio of flowing, organic nature-inspired paintings. Enjoy her work and see more by visiting her website.
“At Night in the Meadow” mixed media on watercolor paper, 30” x 22”
Prana, qi, mana, ki, plasma, and the field are just a few of the names for the cosmic energy said to flow through all things. My artwork is an exploration into what I think I know about the principles that govern this vital life force energy found throughout nature and the cosmos. That everything is connected, that everything comes out of something else, and that everything is always moving and changing.
“Phoenix” mixed media on watercolor paper, 18” x 12”
I intuitively create nature-inspired works on paper. Using watercolor and gouache pigments, acrylic ink and paint, acrylic markers, pencil, and chalk pastels, I create an elegant tangle of organic forms, shapes, and patterns.
“Bird Beak Orchid” mixed media on watercolor paper, 24” x 18”
Visually, my work is bold, colorful, and has lots of movement and patterns. I tend to draw otherworldly imaginary organisms, watery symbiotic neighborhoods of life forms, or made-up flowers. Sometimes, my work is a snapshot of spinning spiraling components in the liminal space between an idea and their eventual form. It’s about the infinite possibilities of the invisible “raw materials” of nature poised to become whatever they need to become.
“Firefly Glow” mixed media on watercolor paper, 30” x 22”
I’m also interested in how this natural energetic phenomena relates to spirituality. How it can be manipulated or harnessed to be more beneficial to living organisms.
“Tidepool” mixed media on watercolor paper mounted on wooden cradle panel, 18” x 12”
I use shapes and curves to create art that is harmonious and comforting and feels like a dance. Birth and growth, expansion and contraction, and the divine feminine and divine masculine are themes evident in my work.
“Blue Dot Flowers” mixed media on watercolor paper, 30” x 22”
I’m a self-taught artist and have been creating art in a variety of media for over 25 years. These include digital art, paint on canvas, jewelry design, and textile art. It wasn’t until I began drawing on paper with wet pigments and mixed media that I felt I had found my unique style.
“Puffball” mixed media on watercolor paper, 18” x 12”
The way the pigments pool and bloom and then dry in a haphazard manner mesmerize me. I love that I can inform the paint, but not control it! I use these textures and effects to create patterns similar to those found in nature. The repetition of these patterns is very therapeutic and serves as a meditation of sorts while I am drawing.
“Galaxy Bloom” mixed media on watercolor paper, 18” x 12”
I credit the breakthrough in my artwork with a qigong moving meditation class that I took just before the pandemic. The day after the class, I felt calmer and more focused, and felt that my creativity flowed more easily. My qigong practice is a continual and necessary part of my work! When the lockdowns happened soon after, I took advantage of that uninterrupted time to delve into my work, and have been prolifically producing and marketing my work ever since.
“Soft Sea” mixed media on watercolor paper mounted on wooden cradle panel, 18” x 12”
I mostly participate in art shows and festivals around my home in East Tennessee but am seeking to increase my gallery presence in the future.
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