Dianne Roberson

Artist Statement

Dianne Roberson


As a young artist, I traveled every summer to the mountains where I sketched Native Americans expressing their creativity through pottery, weaving, beadwork, carving, and dancing. It was this tradition of recording their lives with art that bonded me to these distant Cherokee relatives. I have painted and photographed these artistic native people throughout North, South, and Central America. My Alaskan art is a continuation of these experiences, and a hope to create lasting visual images of native people and their traditions.
Through the years, my life has taken me on many journeys far from my roots. I was drawn to Alaska, as if a magnet was pulling me back to nature. I didn't choose to come here. I simply could not stay away. My Northern Light Series was born on a January excursion. In the cold dark night surrounded by silence near the top of the world, I saw magnetic pulses of light. It was ten degrees below zero as the many colors of reflected lights were magnified by the accumulation of snow on the ground. An intense emotion encompassed me and I understood why our ancestors were so awed, even frightened, by the luminous dances of the Northern Lights. I have been compelled to record this unending series in many veins and under many different influences since. My interpretation of the Aurora Borealis includes the human figure or wildlife to give a definition of scale as well as to celebrate the joyous Alaskan spirit.
The daily visual enjoyments surrounding me in this beautiful state o f Alaska give me the emotional satisfaction that is necessary for me to paint original art in my studio and photograph nature throughout the great Alaskan wilderness. My aim as an artist is to create pulsating, luminous surfaces that emanate a mystic light and give my deepest insight into the experience of life and nature.

As a young artist, I traveled every summer to the mountains where I sketched Native Americans expressing their creativity through pottery, weaving, beadwork, carving, and dancing. It was this tradition of recording their lives with art that bonded me to these distant Cherokee relatives. I have painted these artistic native people throughout North, South, and Central America. My Arctic Life Series and Native Portraits are a continuation of this experience, and a hope to create lasting visual images of Alaska's native people and their traditions.
Through the years, my life has taken me on many journeys far from my roots. I was drawn to Alaska, as if a magnet was pulling me back to nature. I didn't choose to come here, I simply could not stay away. My Night Life Series was born on a January excursion. In the cold dark night surrounded by silence near the top of the world, I saw magnetic pulses of light. It was ten degrees below zero as the many colors of reflected lights were magnified by the accumulation of snow on the ground. An intense emotion encompassed me and I understood why our ancestors were so in awe, even frightened, by the luminous dances of the Northern Lights. I have been compelled to paint this unending series in many veins and under many different influences since. My interpretation of the Aurora Borealis includes the human figure or wildlife to give a definition of scale as well as to celebrate the joyous Alaskan spirit.
My aim in painting is to create pulsating, luminous surfaces that emanate a mystic light and give my deepest insight into the experience of Arctic life and nature.