What
My art is best described as traditional realism with a contemporary feel. The compositions are usually quite clean and elegant but I use subtle elements that lead your eye where I want it to go.
Most of my paintings begin with either a simply toned canvas (also called imprimatura, such a graceful word) or an underpainting done in an earth colour. I do not draw on the canvas with pencil or charcoal but directly with paint. I adjust lines and shapes and add highlights by wiping away paint as needed. When I have a loose but accurate drawing I begin to block in my background and foreground and then move on to my subject matter.
I prefer to paint wet in wet but usually time does not allow for a painting to be completed in one sitting. When I return to a dry painting I add a very thin layer or walnut oil alkyd to the dry surface. This returns the darks to their original rich, wet look and gets rid of that dull sunken look that darks sometimes get. It also provides a nice wet surface to paint on which is positively luscious.
Glazing and scumbling are techniques that I use a lot. A mere whisper of alizaron crimson thinned with medium on a pear can make it glow like’s it’s on fire. Scumbling my brush around the background gives it a texture and sense of airiness. Vermeer and the Flemish painters used thin layers of glazes built up, one after the other to achieve luminosity the likes of which are not often seen today.
I paint in both thin layers and thick. Sometimes I allow the underpainting to show through in places. This adds texture and depth. I usually reserve the thickest paint for the highlights. My paintings are not overly loose. I am not painting to capture only a fleeting feeling but to truly show the beauty of what I am painting and to do that I I like to show the details.
My art is best described as traditional realism with a contemporary feel. The compositions are usually quite clean and elegant but I use subtle elements that lead your eye where I want it to go.
Why
Simple and elegant subject matter is usually what captures my attention. I leave it up to others to make statements with their art. Art is for me, is mostly about beauty. Experiencing, appreciating and creating it. Sometimes I paint because I am drawn to a particular object, colour or lighting situation and other times I paint purely because I feel like it and must look around the studio, garden, refrigerator or fruit bowl for something to paint. Something brand new can be as exciting to paint as something old. Or something quite insignificant like one of my favorite bowls that I picked up in a Chinese supermarket for about three dollars. Showing subject matter in an unconventional way makes us look at it differently and with deeper appreciation.
It isn’t just subject matter, colour, light, and composition that thrills, there is also joy in the technical aspects of painting. The process of painting itself is enthralling. The smell of the paint, the thinners and mediums, the heft of the brush and the lusciousness of the paint itself. Then there is the pure joy of creating. When you see one of my paintings you are seeing me both completely content and exhilarated all at the same time. I’m not one of those struggling, angst filled artists who wrestle with all manner of demons. At the worst I wrestle with cat hair and dust. While there are no lurking demons the amount of information and learning needed to become a good painter is really quite staggering but with time it all begins to sink in and it starts to become second nature. It’s an honour to know that I am carrying on a tradition that has been practiced for thousands of years.
It isn’t just subject matter, colour, light, and composition that thrills, there is also joy in the technical aspects of painting. The process of painting itself is enthralling. The smell of the paint, the thinners and mediums, the heft of the brush and the lusciousness of the paint itself. Then there is the pure joy of creating. When you see one of my paintings you are seeing me both completely content and exhilarated all at the same time. I’m not one of those struggling, angst filled artists who wrestle with all manner of demons. At the worst I wrestle with cat hair and dust. While there are no lurking demons the amount of information and learning needed to become a good painter is really quite staggering but with time it all begins to sink in and it starts to become second nature. It’s an honour to know that I am carrying on a tradition that has been practiced for thousands of years.
Subject Matter
I prefer painting still lifes but have occasionally done portraits, landscapes and sometimes animals. I love the quietness and serenity of a still life lit with cool north light and am drawn to fruits and the vegetables from my garden or the supermarket. I am less drawn to grandeur in scenery and prefer a more intimate scene such as one tree beautifully lit or a burning barrel quietly smoldering away. I haven’t completely figured out why I love still life so much. Maybe part of the enjoyment is the mystery.
Technique
Most of my paintings begin with either a simply toned canvas (also called imprimatura, such a graceful word) or an underpainting done in an earth colour. I do not draw on the canvas with pencil or charcoal but directly with paint. I adjust lines and shapes and add highlights by wiping away paint as needed. When I have a loose but accurate drawing I begin to block in my background and foreground and then move on to my subject matter. I prefer to paint wet in wet but usually time does not allow for a painting to be completed in one sitting. When I return to a dry painting I add a very thin layer or walnut oil alkyd to the dry surface. This returns the darks to their original rich, wet look and gets rid of that dull sunken look that darks sometimes get. It also provides a nice wet surface to paint on which is positively luscious.
Glazing and scumbling are techniques that I use a lot. A mere whisper of alizaron crimson thinned with medium on a pear can make it glow like’s it’s on fire. Scumbling my brush around the background gives it a texture and sense of airiness. Vermeer and the Flemish painters used thin layers of glazes built up, one after the other to achieve luminosity the likes of which are not often seen today.
I paint in both thin layers and thick. Sometimes I allow the underpainting to show through in places. This adds texture and depth. I usually reserve the thickest paint for the highlights. My paintings are not overly loose. I am not painting to capture only a fleeting feeling but to truly show the beauty of what I am painting and to do that I I like to show the details.