Dunya McPherson, Visual Artist
Artist Statement
I’ve always painted. My journey began with my grandmother, an excellent painter who guided me in my youth. Throughout my performing and teaching career in dance, I sketched, painted, (and wrote) whenever time and energy allowed. Then one day a few years ago I was bitten by a desire to surround myself with better art than I could afford. A part of me jumped up and said, “Let’s learn that!”—and I did.
Painting has become a priority. Nearly every day, I’m at the easel. I feed my eyes with museums, art shows, and visits to my fellow artists’ studios—all of which enliven my visual understanding. I will keep learning, keep evolving. It’s an infinity.
Oil is my preferred medium—sensuous in both tactility and luminosity. Sometimes, I paint to explore a particular palette, pigment, or technique, letting curiosity guide me. Years as a choreographer honed my sense of composition and rhythm, but painting presents new challenges—color and values, elements absent in dance, and wonderfully thrilling.
What I see is a world that is alive, bubbling, glimmering, singing, and magical. That vision inspires me. I use what I see—whether a live scene or a photograph—as a structural map. As I progress, the composition and forms begin to speak, often pulling me beyond representation. When I bring it onto canvas, I want it to breathe, to move on the wall. Each piece must find itself and stand strong.
– Dunya Dianne McPherson, Juried Artist
“These paintings change my breathing. The brushwork awakens sensory connection. ‘Enchanted’ is a luminous dream. ’Wild Irises’ is gorgeous! Texture, depth, viscosity, dimension.”
— Christopher Pilafian, fine artist
IN MOTION: Making Art Dance
Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petosky, MI
In Motion: Making Art Dance is a juried exhibition of movement inspired visual art pieces, sharing works that address questions such as, “How do artists today show the energy of moving bodies in paintings, sculpture, or films? How do they use their materials to tell real truths or share big ideas in a creative way? Instead of just showing someone dancing, how do they make the artwork itself feel alive, like it is dancing too?” The exhibit was juried by Peter Sparling, former Principal Dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, painter, and videographer.
OTHER WORLDS: LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS
by Dunya McPherson 2023 Exhibition
Falmouth Art Center, Siegal Gallery
Cape Cod, MA
THE FOREST TEMPLE PAINTINGS
by Dunya McPherson 2025 Exhibition
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Cape Cod, MA
