Dorothy Thayne is a multidisciplinary artist based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Her work explores the interplay of light, texture, emotion and spirit across a variety of mediums, including oil, egg tempera, ink, and pastel. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and holds an MFA from Rutgers University. She has exhibited her work in Atlanta, Northampton, MA, and Pennsylvania. Her traditionally painted icons have been installed in church and monastic settings on the East Coast.
The inspiration for the series of paintings Tree Torsos began when she was a student in Providence, Rhode Island. During long walks on the Hill, the profound beauty of the trees—including magnificent elms and beech trees — caught her eye. Years later she returns to that initial inspiration with a series of oil paintings on linen that she calls “Tree Torsos.” The paintings are an artistic record of Thayne’s encounter with the trees’ form, beauty, and spiritual energy. Her use of the descriptive term “torso” is an homage to Matisse’s series, “The Back.”
In the paintings, Thayne’s style reflects a deep appreciation for traditional techniques and contemporary perspectives, drawing inspiration from the natural beauty in her surroundings. There is a fluid shift between observation and spontaneity, vibrant color and subtly graded black and white, always seeking to reveal the divine within the material world.