Artist profile
Dalin
Alejandrino
Dalin Alejandrino is an emerging abstract artist who creates subtle textured artworks, each embodying a sense of wonder and beauty in nature and its forms. Currently painting from her home studio in Sydney, her abstract expressionism is characterised by muted undertones often contrasted with sunset hues grounded in the delicate use of colour and mix media.
Intuitively delving into the unknown when painting, Dalin draws on themes hovering between past and present, family and home, land and country. She utilises layer upon layer of acrylic, a mix of medium paste, ceramic stucco, blended fibre and fine sand textures to create her pieces.
Dalin’s artistic practice is self-taught. She was a Cambodian refugee with her family having migrated to Australia in 1987, and often draws inspiration from her motherland. That estrangement from land and family is where she draws her emotions while paying homage to heritage and provincial life.
Career Highlights
1. Self delivered her first solo exhibition 'Provincial Sunset' at her local Cafe Parker in 2023.
2. Participated in the Hunter & Folk and Rainbow Studios inaugural group show in 2022 along with 30 other emerging and established artists, exploring themes of transformation and rebirth.
3. Curating a minimalist body of work 'From Being' in 2022 highlighting her love for textured art and the interplay between nature and its forms.
Artist Interview
What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?
I utilise layer upon layer of acrylic paint, incorporating a mix of medium paste, ceramic stucco, blended fibre, glass beads, and fine sand textures to create my artworks. By engaging with mixed media, including acrylic inks, oil sticks, spray paint, and various mediums to introduce subtle texture, I afford myself the opportunity to experiment and remain flexible in my artistic practice. This approach roots my work in a delicate use of colour and mixed media.
How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?
I paint intuitively. I might have an idea or concept in my head but never really know what it will visually look like as the painting generally reveals itself to me. It’s almost as though my soul is speaking through my body onto the canvas – each mark guided with purpose. I’ll start on the base layer and work up the texture if it feels right. The translucency in the water mixtures flows well so I’ll tend to play round with that at first. Then I’ll add on gestural marks and spontaneous brush strokes as my way of exploring colour and subtle textures in an abstract impressionistic form. Form this concept process, the vision and purpose for my body of work becomes clearer over several months of exploring and creating in the studio, before I carefully curate works for an exhibition or new catalogue release on my website.
Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?
My home studio is literally my dining room table and space surrounding it. Due to the restrictive nature of creating in my small home studio, I may decide to hire a space to paint a new body of work. For my latest body of work, Provincial Sunset, I painted from May Street Artist Studio, a light-filled studio space in St Peters to fully enable my creative side to run wild.
