Artist uses personal life to create stirring works

Diana Levinson's works are now on display.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HOWLAND -- Recent works of New England artist Diana Levinson, the wife of film director Barry Levinson, are on display at the Butler Institute of American Art Trumbull Branch.
The bright and colorful abstract expressionistic paintings accurately reflect the artist's inner boldness, her inclination to take risks, avoid the comfortable and venture into the unknown.
"You have to trust that you're going to land on your feet," said Levinson. "I don't go into my studio thinking I'm going to paint in a certain way. I don't know ahead of time what will come out. Sometimes I will paint for hours, then come in and go to bed, exhausted. The next morning, I can't wait to go and see what I have created. It is a very honest method of painting, and I hope that people will appreciate it at different levels."
Levinson's works are pleasing to the eye. Many are composed of big black strokes surrounded by shades of blues, yellows and apricot. Each one evokes an immediate response, reminding the viewer of something familiar. Yet closer inspection triggers memories deep within, an ancient bit of wisdom suddenly awakened.
"I appreciate all forms of art," she said. "Some people feel more comfortable doing representational paintings. I have never been able to sit and do still life works. I have to move around, get on a ladder. I play music in my studio, get my whole body into my work. My art comes from my DNA, I think. It is like doing yoga or meditation. The ideas sit at the back of my brain, then just flow through me. Your life is what is going on in your world. Probably not everyone understands my art, but so far I am excited to have gotten such good response, especially from women."
Levinson said she has always had a fascination with color, texture and form. "I used to sit and stare at the forms that steam created on a window after a rain," she said. "Or sometimes I would just look at the forms within concrete. I have always noticed placement of things, like where the light switches are located in a room."
Family life
Levinson has four grown children, the youngest of whom will be leaving for college. She believes that being a parent has had a positive influence on her art.
"Being a parent means sometimes going through difficult times," she said. "More emotional things come into your life, both good and bad. But I think it has made me a better painter."
Levinson studied art at the University of Maryland and also received private training, but it wasn't until she was in her 40s that she decided to study print-making at San Francisco Institute of Art.
"Print-making is very methodical, complicated, clean," she said. "I alternate between that and painting but never do them both at the same time. Painting is messy -- the paint sloshes around. But doing one affects the other."
Shake it up
Levinson said she never wants to get too comfortable with anything, whether it is with her art or her life. She and her husband reside in Connecticut, about an hour from New York City, and have moved around quite frequently.
"We live out in the country where we can enjoy the peace and quiet, but we are still close to the big city," she said. "This works for both of us. But in the future, I see us possibly moving to New York. Whenever we get too comfortable, we turn everything upside down. Life is all about change and taking risks."