Artists Describing Their Art:
Debra Bretton Robinson - Debra Bretton Robinson Artist Statement: My paintings are inspired by the beauty and complexity of landscape forms both real and imagined. I use the subject of landscape to explore the edge between abstraction and representation with an emphasis on the expressive use of color. I believe color is the soul of a painting, often reflecting the tension between what is known and what is felt. Like the Abstract Expressionists, I am inspired by the act of painting itself and by the sensual articulation of color and form. I prefer acrylics and collage because of their potential for flat shapes and washes of color. When painting, I weave thin outlines around graphic shapes in a gestural bravado, drawing from a palette of uninhibited colors. In the end, my paintings are a symphonic consonance of lustrous hues and expressive forms; a harmony of abstract marks and recognizable imagery. I paint in my studio as well as in the field, the scale of my work ranging from small studies to much larger canvases. The Fauves, as well as The Seven, have played important roles in the development of my style. Favorite artists include Henri Matisse, William Henry Johnson, Tommy Thompson, Lawren Harris, Fairfield ...
Steven Gordon - Light is the quintessential component in Steven Gordons powerfully luminous landscapes of California. They derive their strength from the artists intimate dialogue with land and light At times I feel as if Im painting with light. Its exciting to take something so completely ephemeral and control and create with it. Since his arrival in California from the Midwest Gordon has been focusing on the visual impact of changing light effects in the Napa Valley wine growing region of California. Continuously exploring and formulating new visions, he has been producing pastel and oil paintings of rare immediacy. Steven Gordon grew up in his native town of Waukegan, Illinois. After having been self-taught in his early years, he decided on formal training in the arts. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelors degree in art. For his masters program, he chose Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in painting. After graduate school Steven Gordon came west to settle in the Napa Valley. He secured a job with a local winery in Yountville which turned out to be a fruitful relationship since Gordon was given an annual showing of his ...
Jack Diamond - My interest in art as self expression started at a very early age. I sold my first painting at eighteen. Never attending an art school I learned my craft on the job as an apprentice to master craftsmen. Learning to do restoration work, to paint reproductions of the old masters paintings, as well as painting murals, faux and Trompe l'oeil for many of the world's most demanding clients. Later I attended Akron University to study theater scene painting. As a master artist I have designed and painted theater scenery for numerous productions and painted private commissions for well established internationally known designers as well as original works that are collected around the world. I taught painting as an adjunct professor at Ashland University and The Richland Art Academy. Now working in my New York studio I have turned my attention to capturing the times and world I live in. I paint by memory because I want to paint only the memorable. My compositions take form in my imagination based on my experiences. Currently, my work reflects my interest in math and it's connection to nature, specifically in Fractal geometry, exploring the idea of fusing infinite and finite ...
Rebecca L. Baldwin - My initial endeavors as an artist were in the field of Commercial Art. Like many other Artists before me I experimented with an interesting mix of media since Art School, Pen and Ink, Calligraphy, Watercolor, and Oil and Acrylic Painting. I began, as many artist, with drawing, which then became a career as an Illustrator. During these years as a Commercial Artist, I was blessed with no less than five children, all creative and intelligent individuals. So I had much more to keep me busy than being an Artist. After years of marriage an staying "at Home" with the kids ( now grown), It was impossible to break back into the Commercial Art field. I had also become a painter during my child rearing years and thus began to paint sets for a theater in the small town of Vincennes,Indiana, where I lived at the time and during my marriage. In 1990 I returned to my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky to begin my new career as a painter. Most of my current work is LARGE, actually on walls, and mostly commissioned work that I design myself. I have painted Murals for the City of Louisville, The Louisville Free Public Libraries...
Robert Tittle - I like to experiment with different surfaces, such as painting on burlap, I like the challenge of painting clean edges on the rough, bumpy and fuzzy surface. My creations have led some viewers to described them as having characteristics of romanticism. My desire is to stimulate emotions and imaginations, to invoke curiosity in the viewer and create a feeling of being there in the location the painting depicts. I hope my paintings reveal my spiritual character, my faith in God, and the beauty of nature. I have been taught, when an artist puts creativity and spirituality into a painting, they will then have something to leave to the world. ...
John Douglas - John Douglas is an Australian multi-media artist whose painting exhibitions have received acclaim and caused controversy both in his home country and internationally. He began painting at the age of 8, and studied at the Queensland College of Art until his expulsion in 1984 for being a "disruptive and disturbing influence", after which his career really took off. His photography encompasses a broad spectrum of styles and themes, including publications in Thailand, Denmark, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, China, Qatar, Australia and Japan. John Douglas currently has his short film "Painting Air" in a solo web exhibit for The Istanbul Museum of Contemporary Art. ...