A father and daughter offer two visions of nature in paintings at “The Arboreal” at Dimmitt Contemporary Art—one sweeping and luminous, the other soft and impressionistic. Michael Dines renders hazy, emotion-laden scenes; Grace Dines traces the contours of branches and leaves with powdered pigment on paper.
Michael’s THE BLACK FIELD AT DEMSINS FARM (2025) is a hazy landscape where trees emerge through a weathered surface. For the artist, his landscapes are more about how texture can make people feel immersed in nature. “It’s not important to see the trees,” Michael said to Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. “I want the viewer of the painting to see and feel moisture in the air, or the absence of light.” Meanwhile, Grace starts her paintings by photographing natural subjects, experimenting with focus and exposure to alter perception. She then transfers these images onto paper using layered powder pigments, creating textured works that contain soft, monochromatic silhouettes of organic forms.
Based in South Carolina, Michael trained in fine arts at West Virginia University and Fairmont State College. His work has been exhibited at Atlanta’s Fay Gold Gallery and Chicago’s Peter Miller Gallery. Born in Atlanta and living in New York City, Grace holds a bachelor’s degree in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University.
