The Art of Betty Dimock
Betty Dimock was born in Saint John, New Brunswick
in 1916 and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1940. During World War II she served as a Nursing Sister in the
South African Army in South Africa, and the Canadian Army in Canada, England and North West Europe. When she
lost her hearing at age 29 and could not continue with nursing, she got back into painting.
Dimock studied at the Pratt Institute in New York, the Sorbonne in Paris, the
University of Saskatchewan and the University of Florence in Italy. At age 63 in 1979 she obtained a Bachelor
of Fine Arts degree from the University of Manitoba. In 1980 her interest in printmaking led her to Japan,
where she studied the Japanese technique of woodblock printmaking with Toshi Yoshida, a world renowned printmaker.
Dimock’s artistic vision is influenced by all that she has experienced. She has
had numerous solo and group exhibitions in Canada, the United States and abroad.
My approach is spontaneous, working either the positive and/or the negative areas. Hence, individual images
present themselves.
Many of the images present numerous challenging options; therefore, I allow images to develop even though the
development does not appear to present relevant situations. This is where the subconscious experience projects
beyond intellect; therefore, the subconscious becomes conscious.
I refuse to be limited to my intellect. It is a force from within that reveals something felt rather than known
which relates subconscious projection to experience rather than to intellect.
It is the element of freedom versus the element of control that allows the manipulation of form, dimension and
colour to a visual evocation of metamorphosis.
Subconsciously I provoke the viewers’ participation and exploratory powers of discovery by allowing each image
unlimited boundaries. I am aware that the image is not easily accepted if the viewer is seeking reassuring and
familiar images in a representational format. Each finished image is a subjective experience.
Betty Dimock
August 3, 2006 |
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