Different shades of blue, yellow, red, and gold. Circles piled on top of and inside each other. Unpredictable patterns and people in every color and every shape. Some are melancholy, some are grotesque, and some are joyful. These massive oil paintings are the treasures of the “It’s Personal” exhibition held in the de Menil Gallery. 

Elizabeth Noble, one of the artists in the exhibition, is a professional oil painter and illustrator from Nebraska. Although originally interested in studying biology, she took a class in her freshman year of college that changed her view on art completely. 

Sarah Diamond, the other artist whose artwork is featured in the de Menil Gallery, is a Miami-born artist and landscape designer. She currently still resides in Miami, and spends her days working on her artwork and landscape projects. 

The right side of the gallery exhibits Ms. Diamond’s work and the left side exhibits Ms. Noble’s. While Ms. Noble’s work features objects and people, Ms. Diamond’s work focuses on human portraits. In her self-portraits, Ms. Diamond draws her full body and the surroundings around her, but Ms. Noble only draws her upper body and paints the background with rough brushstrokes. 

When asked what differentiates her artwork from other artists’, Ms. Diamond says that she is “learning to paint from imagination and not only physical, real-life objects.” A noticeable part of her style is her usage of crude circles to create interesting patterns, full of different colors and overlapping lines.

Ms. Noble, on the other hand, emphasizes her “energetic mark making.” She tries to make her paintings immersive and feel more realistic by “energizing her brushstrokes,” aiming to create her paintings in a “intricate and engaging” way. Another interesting thing about Ms. Noble’s work is that next to each painting, there is a description of the inspiration behind the work and the emotions she felt during the creation process. 

One way that Ms. Noble finds inspiration is through her daily runs around her neighborhood. She pays close attention to simple, everyday objects, such as leaves, dead grasshoppers, and orange slices. Similarly, Ms. Diamond says that everything in life, including objects and people, can mean different things when she pays closer attention to them and can serve as inspiration.

Though their artworks portray different subjects and are made through differing techniques, both artists use strong brush strokes and distinctive color choices. Standing in front of a painting feels like the entrance to another world, as if being submerged in a wave of emotions. 

The exhibition will remain open until November 22, 2024. Visit the de Menil Gallery between 8:35 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (closed Wednesdays) to enjoy an opportunity to immerse yourself in the swirls, circles, and sweeping strokes of Sarah Diamond and Elizabeth Noble.