I paint almost exclusively in acrylics. My current acrylic work can be roughly divided into three categories: Tone separation, "Driftnetting", and everything else.

In tone separation, I use slabs of acrylic. Photographs are tinkered with photoshop; the resultant images form the basis of my paintings. I started using this method in late 2001, and have been working mainly in this manner since then. "Driftnetting" is similar, but uses pictures found on the 'net, usually either heavily distorted group portraits or closely cropped single portraits.

In other media I have done collages, a mural, photomanipulations, and other computer art. I also do minimalist line drawings of the human figure, and am currently experimenting with combining these with painting. 

A selection of my work, arranged by year, can be sampled by clicking on the gallery links to the right. Many of the paintings are for sale, mostly from Moray Gallery, Dunedin (townscapes and landscapes), Temple Gallery, Dunedin (portraits), or directly from me. Contact me for details about individual works, or for more information.

The word Grutness comes from a placename in the Shetland Islands of Scotland, which just appealed to me. The Grutness logo shows the Uffington Horse, which also forms part of my signature on paintings. The Uffington Horse is a pre-Roman chalk figure carved in the Cotswold Hills of southern England, equidistant between my childhood home of Croughton and the town of Corsham, home of my maternal ancestry. It probably dates to about 200 BC, although some researchers claim that it is considerably older. Its oddly surrealistic form and elegance of line have long fascinated me. My choice of logo may also have been influenced by its use on an album cover by one of my favourite bands, XTC, who come from nearby Swindon.

Influences and interests

Exhibitions

My influences include those from outside art, and those of other artists. With the former, I have always been interested in aesthetics - even my psychology studies veered in this direction. I also get strong mental images with a lot of music (many of my paintings take their titles from songs). 

There are strong similarities between my musical and artistic preferences, which I have written about as an overall aesthetic preference elsewhere on this site.

As for my influences from artists and art movements, my interests form a 'bell curve' around the early 20th century, diminishing with distance from that time. 

I am interested in the Pre-Raphaelite, Symbolist/Decadent, Romantic, Metaphysical, Surrealist, Art Nouveau, Ashcan, Precisionist, Realist, Abstract Expressionist, Pop Art, Op Art, and Stuckist movements. 

My favourite ten artists would probably be (in no set order) de Chirico, Delvaux, Friedrich, Hopper, Klimt, Knopff, Magritte, Munch, Sage, and Turner. 

I also admire the work of Bosch, Burne-Jones, (Leonora) Carrington, Close, Ernst, Fini, Giacometti, Giger, Ingres, Kahlo, Kienholz, Klapheck, Mondrian, Picasso, Riley, Rothko, Spilliaert, Tanguy, Varo, Warhol, and Whistler. Of New Zealand artists, I particularly admire Peter Siddall, plus many of my contemporaries in the Dunedin art scene.
 
 

I am not the only Dignan involved in art. Though I don't know of any family links, there is a Lawrie Dignan who is an artist in Canada, and also another James Dignan who works as an illustrator in Australia.

	My first solo exhibition, Old land (Seventeen views of New Zealand), was held from May 7 - 17, 2002, at Satellite Gallery, Dunedin. It contained 18 paintings - a self portrait and (as the name suggests) seventeen other works. Many of the paintings exhibited are displayed on this site. An article and a review of this exhibition can be found here.
My second solo exhibition, Driftnetting, was held from April 5-23, 2004, at Moray Gallery, Dunedin. It contained 25 paintings. Many of the paintings exhibited are displayed on this site. A review of this exhibition can be found here.
	My third solo exhibition, Another Day On Earth, was held from March 18-30, 2006, at Moray Gallery, Dunedin. It contained 27 paintings. Many of the paintings exhibited are displayed on this site. Reviews of this exhibition can be found here.
My fourth solo exhibition, Under the Blue Southern Skies, was held from September 22 - October 12, 2007, at Moray Gallery, Dunedin. It contained 16 paintings. Many of the paintings exhibited are displayed on this site. An article and a review of this exhibition can be found here.
	My fifth solo exhibition, The Unguarded Moment, was held from May 15-28, 2009, at Temple Gallery, Dunedin. It contains 18 paintings. Many of the paintings exhibited are displayed on this site. A review of this exhibition can be found here.

A complete list of all the art exhibitions at which I have had work shown can now be found here.