a bit about my style and where i find inspiration.
i’ve spent a while now fascinated by classic art and art history. after looking at enough art from the french impressionism era, i think i finally became fed up with all that absurd amount of beauty, i wanted to give it a try myself. in that way, i prefer to use simple materials and colors in my process. oil, linseed oil, and canvas. my five colors used are titanium white, cadmium yellow, cadmium red, french ultramarine and burnt umber. from here i can produce the greater range of colors in a very natural palette. it also means that by using the same five colors, my work will feel unified across all pieces. if they could do it, i figure i can as well. i’ve only been painting for a few years, but i am very happy and content with what i have produced.
my inspirations:
John Singer Sargent is my favorite artist. he has such a magnificent ability to paint in both astounding detail and a restrained looseness. i once spent a few hours staring at his painting “Madame X” in person. I mostly left not understanding very much. a terrific feeling to have when learning to understand art! his work feels astoundingly real, yet loose enough to feel vague. it’s a heck of a tightrope to walk.
Edgar Degas finds a grounded beauty in his subjects. ballet, theater and dance became a fascination for me after seeing it through his works. he can represent beauty in every day life with finality and purpose. also his wide usage of materials remains incredibly inspiring. charcoal, pastel, watercolor, oil, bronze, anything is game for him to capture beauty.
John William Waterhouse has cleared so many paintings of such great emotion that it leaves me in awe. just a handful would be enough for me to love his works, yet he has finished so many pieces that even now i keep finding new work of his to love. he has a remarkable talent for capturing deep and powerful emotions. i’ve seen whole television dramas with less interest than just one of his works. simple portraiture, incredible humanity. i feel proud just to be inspired by his works.
Claude Monet is an all time classic, but no less important. he was my first appreciation into art, and one that i look at each and every day, his art hung up in my home. i know it’s a boring pick, but i know what his work means to me, it feels important. primarily his celebration of color is awe inspiring.
and Vincent Van Gogh. i have spent a long time not wanting to love his works. i think it comes down to pure jealousy. simple compositions and technique, but incredible results. the older i get the more i come to appreciate colors. it’s as simple as that really.
among others these are some of my favorites. just looking at their work is enough to learn on for the rest of my life. techniques, color use, composition, emotions, etc.
don’t ask me about modern and abstract art. no thank you.
doodles:
a lot of my efforts lately have been in pen-drawn image recreation. focusing on photographs and art pieces i enjoy, i spend a lot of my off time trying to draw what i see by eye. the foundation of any painting is drawing ability, so it’s important to get better in this area. faces and figures are not easy, so that’s my current pursuit. i also enjoy the simplicity of the medium. all mistakes are final, so it pushes me to be intentional and more sure of my actions. i’ve had a lot of drawings go bad from overdoing a shadow or messing up a nose. it’s do or die, and i think a healthy avenue when learning to represent what we see on paper. in all that time spent practicing, i’ve come to find that i have quite a lot of drawings that i think look pretty good! so i’ve taken the time to upload them some of them here. it’s more of a “flavor” page, affectionately titled, “doodles.” however the goal of the site is to exhibit my interests, so i thought it worthwhile to include them.
