To draw the forest is to study complex relationships. Below are a few of the direct studies Diamond has made that indirectly underlie and inform her complex and dynamic paintings.
This is how she describes it:
I keep drawings like these visible in order to make larger paintings, not to copy, but to conjure. My first hours at a scene I’m scratching at surfaces. Thereafter, drawing and painting take over, it’s not about the scene anymore, it’s in me and I’m in it.
Diamond’s work is metaphorical and atavistic in part, but it also has an urgency that makes me think of the worldwide efforts to understand and restore diverse habitats.
—CNQ
see more of Cathy Diamond’s work here
