Del Mar artist’s paintings selected for ArtWalk

By Kristina Houck

Don’t like what you see? Paint over it. That’s how Dawn Kureshy paints — a technique she developed while trying to recreate a picture of the Milky Way.

“I tried to paint what I saw. I tried and I tried,” said Kureshy, who has lived in Del Mar since 1996. “Finally, I just covered it over with one color and started to paint from my heart. That’s when I found my voice as an artist.”

Kureshy uses the universe as her inspiration. Her paintings, which are inspired by images taken from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, will be featured in ArtWalk San Diego @NTC Liberty Station.

“They are fascinating images from the universe,” Kureshy said. “I consider my work universal abstracts because I’m not trying to recreate representational art of what I see in the images, I’m just inspired by the peaceful feeling you get from seeing them. It’s a sense of awe and wonder.”

A mother of two, Kureshy has a bachelor’s degree in medical technology and worked for years in laboratories before she began selling medical equipment to labs. She began painting five years ago.

“I finally just got out the paints and started. I just went for it,” said Kureshy, who took art classes at the San Diego Museum of Art and the Art Department in North Park, which is part of the San Diego Art Institute. “I think sometimes you just get to a point where that thing you always wanted to do, whether you really know it or not, kind of comes out.

“Everybody has an artist inside of them. I think it’s just a matter of how much you let that come out.”

A member of the San Diego Art Department, San Diego Art Institute and Ray Street Artists, Kureshy’s work has been featured in juried regional exhibitions at San Diego Art Institute’s Museum of the Living Artist and was juried into the Institutes’ 51st Annual International Exhibition.

This is her third year participating in ArtWalk, formerly known as ArtWalk on the Bay. For the first time, the juried event will take place at NTC Liberty Station.

“It’s a great location because it’s already a great art community,” Kureshy said. “ArtWalk is a fantastic event. I think it’s a fun way to spend a Saturday or Sunday.”

ArtWalk San Diego @NTC Liberty Station takes place Aug. 24 and 25 at NTC Liberty Station at Ingram Plaza, 2645 Historic Decatur, San Diego. Admission is free.

For more information about ArtWalk @NTC, visit www.artwalksandiego.org/ntc.

For more information about Dawn Kureshy, visit www.dawnkureshy.com.