Artists Describing Their Art:
David Larkins - Ii?1/2ve always been intrigued by the luminosity and transparencies found in watercolor, Oil and acrylic mediums. I believe an artist must experience the painting i?1/2 to absorb the surroundings, the atmosphere, to have a oneness with the subject matter before the first brush stroke is applied. My style is described as i?1/2Abstract Realismi?1/2 and my strength is found in the composition. Ii?1/2m drawn to diverse subject matter that challenges the viewer to see abstraction in the ordinary i?1/2 to meld the i?1/2reali?1/2 world with the i?1/2abstracti?1/2. ...
Michael Garr - I have been drawing and painting since Junior High. I enjoy quick art, impressionistic yet realistic, and minimal. There are interesting subjects all around us. My inspirations are architecture, people, light and shadow, the sea and boats, imagination... and the old masters. Get out and enjoy your surroundings. All my works are available as signed and numbered prints. I also do commission works, some examples of which are in the portfolio. I donate all proceeds to charity, and have recently teamed with SAVE THE BAY, a local Rhode Island eco-advocate organization, which receives 30 PER CENT of my proceeds. My opportunities for artistic expression have included drawing on napkins during airplane rides and waiting during my sons music lessons. In 2012 I took up oil painting for the first time, and my mentor is Lorena Pugh of North Kingstown. Ive done both Plein air and studio work in her presence, and am benefitting from the association. We have an informal group who meet and paint in Lorenas studio on Monday nights throughout the indoor season. I will continue to pursue art on a daily basis, and post the finished works here and on facebook for any and all to ...
Micha Nussinov - Nussinov's Statement Oct 2012 Drifting, being transient, in between various states of body/mind, like when we travel physically and with our imagination, as in a 'waking dream'. My work represents a world of ambiguity and illusion, of recognized and abstracted scenes embedded as a tapestry of matter, illustrating different relationships. Somewhere in the process of creating artworks these worlds are mixed in an harmonious and conflicting manner, representing the contradiction and collision between languages and landscapes. At all times the viewer is challenged to unfold the mystery, to explore and discover. The works of art are created not through a planned process but rather the starting point is an impulse, a visual or musical trigger. These signals lure the me into the unknown territories where my intuition and inner vision leads to spontaneous discoveries. As a teenager my box camera was an excuse to drift away from trouble, to capture in a photo something, that was at the same time ambiguous and exciting. As a cinematographer/ director of documentaries from1976 to1980 I was acknowledged as an acute observer of people and an highly experimental filmmaker. I have been working in various fields of the arts, consistently for the ...
Nancy Bechtol - Artists explore and give the world a view of their personal heightened awareness. I visualize and think with keen beliefs and insights. Reflection of human and societal concerns which cross emotional boundaries-- communicating that which is unspoken. My traditional art foundations of drawing, painting and printmaking, evolved into video, digital photography and experimental media. I use digital photography and imaging to envision the concepts originating from the creative pulse.An individual artist explores and gives the world a view of their personal heightened awareness. Artists see and think with keen beliefs and insights.Reflection of human and societal concerns which cross emotional boundaries-- communicating that which is unspoken. My traditional art foundations of drawing, painting and printmaking, evolved into video, digital photography and experimental media. I use digital photography and imaging to envision the concepts originating from the creative pulse....
Randy Sprout - I grew up in a small town in Northern Iowa, played football, coached the swimming team, and graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in printmaking studying under Mauricio Lasansky. I then went into the Army and ended up pulling 13 months in Korea on the DMZ. Coming out of Korea I entered UCLA and earned a MA and MFA in printmaking while studying under Jan Stussy and Stanton Mac-Donald Wright. The next year after the funds dried up on my Fulbright Award to Portugal, because of the Angola War, I was lucky to get hired by USC where I taught printmaking as a junior faculty member. I also replaced professors at UCLA when they went on sabaticals, and taught one year at Pierce College. In 1977 I tried Real Estate, you know just for the summer, but by fall I had purchased Century 21 Hollywood Inc. and had a new vocation going. Now 31 years into real estate, I'm coming full circle and starting to paint little quick studies 9X12. I'm using just 1/2 inch brushes and 5 colors. I intentionally limit my time to 2 hours after which I stop and throw ...
Deborah Wilson - ARTIST STATEMENT - DEBORAH WILSON Ii?1/2m a native of Missouri, but, my husband and I have taken many opportunities to experience other areas of the US and our neighboring countries. So, my artwork is influenced by all of those cultures and environments which we have spent time in. This includes cross-country camping and hiking trips, which dip into Canada or Mexico, along with various missions trips, working vacations and temporary residences. We have gone on working vacations for extended time periods in USVI (St. John) and Yellowstone National Park. And, my husband and I were dual residents of Missouri and Hawaii for about 5 or 6 years. So, as you can imagine, there is great diversity of subject matter and I need several more lifetimes to paint everything that is wanting to be painted! Some paintings have been done in our camper, some in a makeshift studio in the closet, on the floor or on the dining room table. Here in Missouri, I have a studio separate from our house on our land, just outside of Springfield. Who we are and whatever is in our hearts tends to come out in our artwork. So, you will find a lot ...
Dana Zivanovits - Dana Zivanovits was born in 1958 in Columbus, Ohio and received his art training from the Columbus College of Art and Design (1978 to 1982). After art school, he went abroad for a year and studied the art of the old masters in London, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Venice. Returning to his studio in Columbus to develop these influences into a new body of work, he then traveled to Mexico and studied the sculpture and painting of that country for an extended period. The unique and vivid colors of Palenque and Vera Cruz intensified his palette. After a period in Ohio, he then moved to Venice Beach, California where the brilliant light of the region reinforced his desire to capture effects of sunlight and atmosphere. Returning to Ohio in 1995, he has continued to paint themes deriving inspiration form sources such as world mythology, classic and B-grade cinema, literature and dreams. However his primary inspiration is direct observation from nature, versus an approach based in art theories or cultural critique. Dana has been widely represented by galleries and exhibition projects including Julie Rico and Mega Boom in Los Angeles, the Venice Art Detour, Around the Coyote Festival in Chicago ...
Jocelynn Grabowski - From childhood, we are molded to be who we are today. Because of this, I look at things differently than you do. I may notice the wood on the living room couch while you observe the color patterns on it first. When creating sculptural installations, I combine wood, metal, paint, and lights to make the viewer think and see in different ways. The work titled Black Light Dream, challenges our perspective. When the viewer stands in one location, what they observe will be different from another part of the room. Working on a large-scale with different materials and enclosed in a darkend space, I create this optical illusion. I intend for the viewer to find different focal points, highlighting the patterns and sense of movement throughout the work....
Riley Young - I started to work with ceramics because it was a medium that held me accountable. There are no shortcuts or cheats in ceramics, it takes time and patience. Ceramics was also a way for me to rethink the everyday, common objects in my life. This began as an obsession with bowls and has since spiraled into anything you can find in a kitchen. I enjoy the fact that everything is made to be touched, loved and eventually broken after years of use. Working primarily in stoneware using clean, simple glazes on functional pieces of pottery I bring into focus the beauty of everyday kitchen objects. Although the materials guide that first encounter, the form follows suit. I create works that fit in the hand perfectly, with an emphasis on touch and feel, enhancing our simple, everyday moments. We all have different relationships with objects that are handmade versus commercially produced. Handmade objects often have a personalized feel, almost as if to be communicating an emotion. This is a collection of various works that showcases a variety of different techniques and mediums. I bring the philosophy of touch and texture from my ceramic works into my two dimensional works such as ...
Donald Mccray - I tend to focus on everyday observations of the world, real and imaginary. I want to make what I hope is a strong visual statement that will stand the test of time. I have a fondness for working in black and white as a tribute to the early masters. As I have said previously, print making is my favorite form of art; mainly because, you have to be a proficient draftsman, understanding line quality, texture, form, pressure, shade, tonality, perspective, design, surface tension and irregularities. My old professor (Lee Baxter Davis) at East Texas State University never let me forget figure ground relationships, and his theories for sequential values. The other side of my artistic palette is very comfortable when working with color, relationship, and harmony. My main desire when working with traditional , or digital photography with no digital enhancements is to capture a moment in time , and space. I am inspired by atmospheric depth, movement, design, lines, and shapes. I also enjoy the more experimental side of creating photography with a simple pin hole camera; also known as, a camera obscures. The creative thrust that I am trying to express is of paramount importance, and always at the center ...