{"id":32938,"date":"2025-12-16T10:53:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/?p=32938"},"modified":"2025-12-17T00:36:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T00:36:14","slug":"s-w-dinge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/2025\/12\/16\/s-w-dinge\/","title":{"rendered":"S.W. Dinge"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"32938\" class=\"elementor elementor-32938\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-041eca2 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"041eca2\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a7ef251 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a7ef251\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 22-05-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\tS.W. Dinge has been an abstract painter for 25+ years. He earned his BA at Oneonta University in New York and currently resides in Providence, Rhode Island.<br>\n<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/swdinge\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a><\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-76439c4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"76439c4\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-799d3c6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"799d3c6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-32916 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Img-5634.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Img-5634.jpeg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Img-5634-261x300.jpeg 261w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Img-5634-892x1024.jpeg 892w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Img-5634-768x881.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Img-5634-600x689.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/><\/h4><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your works balance simplicity with high energy. When you begin a new piece, what usually comes first for you &#8211; color, line, or composition?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I\u2019m not one of those painters who fills a room with large blank canvases, and then paints in a fury for a few days, little by little on 10 or 12 paintings at once. Broadly speaking, I deal with each new canvas one at a time until it\u2019s found some type of resolution, then I move on to the next one. Each one is a conversation, I suppose. And as with conversations, it works better when not everyone in the room is talking at the same time.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each painting starts by creating \u2018a problem\u2019 visually. Then the next task is to fix the problem. This process of chasing the problem around the canvas happens as many times as it needs to until a sort of visual harmony is reached. I see my work similar, structurally, to how music comes together. A song is created by multiple instruments \/sounds coming together in a unique way. Each player has to pull their own weight so the final result can be fully realized. I interpret each color, line, brushstroke, and shape to be a different instrument, each playing its own part, creating a visual \u2018song\u2019.<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">You often mention \u201cimpulsive lines\u201d and \u201cspills of color\u201d. How do you cultivate spontaneity while still maintaining a strong sense of structure?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I hope to never see a familiar mark or shape that is so obviously \u2018me\u2019 when I\u2019m painting. That\u2019s almost impossible to achieve because everyone has their way of doing things that can\u2019t be undone. I guess I\u2019m aiming for a controlled spontaneity. Using something like a paintbrush extender, so I\u2019m 3 or 4 feet from the canvas, can help to make it seem like someone else is doing the painting, I like that. Most often though, I paint with my non-dominant hand. Although I am getting better at that over the years so that might soon stop working the way that I need it to.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32917 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-All-Or-None-1-2023.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-All-Or-None-1-2023.jpeg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-All-Or-None-1-2023-226x300.jpeg 226w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-All-Or-None-1-2023-771x1024.jpeg 771w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-All-Or-None-1-2023-768x1020.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-All-Or-None-1-2023-600x797.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> S.W. Dinge | All Or None +1 | 2023<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Negative space plays a crucial role in your paintings. What does \u201cquiet stillness\u201d mean to you within such vibrant compositions?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I guess you could boil it down to saying that \u2018there isn\u2019t much going on in this part of the painting.\u2019 Call it negative space, call it the gap between actions or call it simply unpainted, whatever you choose. These areas are just as important as the colors and the lines and the juxtapositions between them. They are room to breathe, room to reflect. Think about if someone is yelling or talking at you like mad without stopping. Soon you just stop listening. But if they take breaks to breathe and pause, you may be more apt to try and connect with what they\u2019re saying.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I\u2019m not particularly drawn to paintings that are super busy with layers upon layers upon layers of paint all over the canvas. I like trying to use the quiet and loud parts in concert with each other to find a balance that works. I\u2019m not trying to coat a canvas in a blanket of paint, I\u2019m trying to thread a needle.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32918 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Bazooka-2023.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Bazooka-2023.jpeg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Bazooka-2023-218x300.jpeg 218w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Bazooka-2023-746x1024.jpeg 746w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Bazooka-2023-768x1055.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Bazooka-2023-600x824.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> S.W. Dinge | Bazooka | 2023<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many viewers see hints of familiar objects in your shapes without them ever becoming literal. How intentional is this sense of near-recognition?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, intentional for sure. I want these paintings to resonate with the viewer by tugging on their subconscious memory banks. Not every viewer is going to connect with every painting, but that\u2019s OK. I often think of them as aesthetically pleasing Rorschach tests. There\u2019s a possibility of seeing something in there but you can\u2019t quite put your finger on it. The comment I enjoy the most about my work is when someone says \u2018I love this painting. I don\u2019t know why I do, but I do.\u2019 When I hear that, I think \u2018I got \u2018em\u2019, you know? I tapped into something.<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your work often feels simultaneously playful and confrontational. Do you aim for emotional ambiguity, or does it emerge naturally during the process?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ambiguity, whether emotional or otherwise, is the whole game, in my mind. I want to dance around the obvious, not spoon feed it to the viewer. I\u2019m not going to say that it\u2019s a landscape or it\u2019s a portrait or it\u2019s a vase, because each painting possesses the potential to be all of those things. I try to keep things simple and vague enough so each painting is assessable on multiple levels at one time. I like the possibility that the viewer is experiencing something familiar to them, like when you bump into someone and you feel like you already know them, but you just can\u2019t remember from where.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32919 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Cuckoo-Salad-2023.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Cuckoo-Salad-2023.jpeg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Cuckoo-Salad-2023-213x300.jpeg 213w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Cuckoo-Salad-2023-728x1024.jpeg 728w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Cuckoo-Salad-2023-768x1080.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Cuckoo-Salad-2023-600x844.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> S.W. Dinge | Cuckoo Salad | 2023<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">How did growing up in New York State\u2019s Adirondack region shape your sense of visual language or artistic sensibility?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I love upstate New York, don\u2019t get me wrong, but all I\u2019ll say is that there was a quote that always resonated with me. I believe it was movie critic, Roger Ebert, who said it but I could be wrong on that. It was \u2018The only good thing about growing up in a small town, is that you know you want to get out.\u2019<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-32920 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Echo-2023.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Echo-2023.jpeg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Echo-2023-211x300.jpeg 211w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Echo-2023-721x1024.jpeg 721w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Echo-2023-768x1091.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/S.W.-Dinge-Echo-2023-600x852.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> S.W. Dinge | Echo | 2023<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do you know when a painting &#8211; especially one built on spontaneity &#8211; is truly finished?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well, that\u2019s the $1 million question, isn\u2019t it? I know many painters will say that a painting is never finished and I suppose technically, I\u2019d have to agree with them since I have gone back in to add to paintings a decade or more later. That doesn\u2019t happen very often, though. I\u2019m very cautious not to overwork a painting. Restraint is critical. Sometimes I push it too far and it loses something. It\u2019s not as impactful for some reason and then I get into correction mode, trying to recapture what it once had. Kind of like when you\u2019re driving on the highway and you miss your exit. Everything you do from that point on is just trying to get back to where you were before.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s difficult to articulate really because I don\u2019t fully understand it myself. At some point during the process, something signals to me that there is nothing more I can do to increase the impact this painting can have. I don\u2019t question it, I don\u2019t force things upon it, I just except it and move on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>S.W. Dinge has been an abstract painter for 25+ years. He earned his BA at Oneonta University in New York and currently resides in Providence, Rhode Island. Instagram Your works balance simplicity with high energy. When you begin a new piece, what usually comes first for you &#8211; color, line, or composition? I\u2019m not one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32938"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33255,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938\/revisions\/33255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}