Philosophy
Give me a beauty which is not quiet!
I came to figurative art and portraiture from a career in public opinion research. In both these pursuits I focus on the human spirit – our mythology, beliefs, desires – on what is essentially true about us and our time.
My paintings confront the essence and beauty of the subject directly. I show the subject with little artifice or ornamentation, and rarely any sense of pose. While you look at the subjects, they look back at you. They do not exist as objects alone – they are active and engaging. At times the viewer may feel he or she is the object of the sitter’s scrutiny.
I find this direct quality most remarkable in the works of the Great Masters. Throughout history and today, great portraits convey the sense that subjects are as alive and active in their portraits as they were during the sitting and during their lives. This directness and vitality give the portrait timeless meaning and quality. In the words of the French Romantic Eugene Delacroix, “Give me a beauty which is not quiet!”
Technique
To achieve this vital sense of beauty, I use traditional, classical painting techniques. Additionally, I use materials and painting surfaces prepared according to the traditions of the Masters. Oil pigments and finely woven linen stretched over birch board are my preferred materials. I also use the traditional method of glazing, superimposing thin layers of semi-transparent colors to create a glassy surface. With this ancient technique, rarely used today, light seems to radiate from within the painting itself.
In one significant way I depart from traditional techniques: I use color combinations that are modernist, or even postmodern in modeling the faces and figures. My non-traditional interpretation of color provides a highly energetic vocabulary for speaking the language of the human spirit. It is this combination of traditional techniques and the postmodern application of color that distinguishes my work.
Education
Independent Study with Fresco Artist Ben Long, 1995-2000
Independent Study with Performance Artist Janet Iris Sussman, 1997-1999
Independent Museum Study, directed by Dr. Michael Kampen-ORiley, 1995-2002
Museum Studies:
Although the past century seems to have been ruled by a series of abstract art styles that have attached modest value to representation and information about personal character, I believe portraiture remains one of the most powerful means of humanistic communication. For this reason, I chose to let the Great Masters of portraiture guide my technical development as an artist. Focused museum studies included the process of developing an in-depth historical perspective, studies of technical elements of the time, and on-site sketches and drawings to explore the formal elements of painting.
Museum studies concentrated on several historic, national traditions. I studied the English tradition running from the early Baroque works of Anthony Van Dyck done in the English court through the Neoclassical period of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough to John Singer Sargent and Cecilia Beaux. Among the Dutch portraitists of the mid-seventeenth century Golden Age of Painting, I found the works of Jan Vermeer most compelling. As the renowned poet of light his works exhibit not only technical mastery, but a deep sense of understanding of the human spirit. The early Baroque portrait tradition in Spain provided critical instruction on brushwork, the use of shadow, and dramatic lighting. While it is possible to view the Great Masters through reproductions, it is only in the presence of the original works that I was able to comprehend and assimilate the full spectacle of their accomplishments.
Museum studies from 1995-2000 were conducted in:
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Glasgow: Glasgow Museum of Art, Glasgow School of Art
London: National Portrait Gallery, The Tate Museum, The National Gallery, The Victoria and Albert
Los Angeles: John Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frick Museum
San Francisco: Legion of Honor Museum, Museum of Modern Art
Washington DC: The National Portrait Gallery, The National Gallery of Art