Artists Describing Their Art:
Barbara Shepard - Although I had a grounding in many techniques and processes and an academic training in drawing and painting from nature, archetecture and the model, my early work became abstracted and sometimes it was in 3d or relief using mixed media. Gradually it honed down into painting and drawing mainly due to studio restriction and other themes to do with the body started to emerge. I moved away from abstraction and in the late 1980's and early 1990's themes were to do with redefining the feminine and picturing the female nude from a female perspective. My current work is concerned with different aspects of human expression and especially a different face of masculinity. It seeks to re-configure the male in art. I am interested in how this translates into the aesthetics of a pictorial image, creating beauty in composition, colour and mark making. Taken from a close up perspective, they explore female desire and male vulnerability. The male model is the observed rather than the observer. It isn't an attempt to do a role reversal and objectify the male but to illuminate aspects of male character little seen on public view. Composed of close up parts of ...
Klaus Lange - I photograph "sea-worn stories" in the weathered and worn paint on the sides of ships at sea. With my camera I capture distressed painted steel, thus presenting an intimate look at what most people not only never see, but generally are not even aware of. With that I reveal some intensely dramatic abstract imagery and the grand power of an ever moving force - the sea....
Tiger Lily Jones - I create and offer my artwork to help bring nature indoors with a purpose to elevate and inspire the viewer. Nature is so creative and has the power of beauty and the power of transformation be it to calm or to excite. The effect nature has on us humans is so profound, even a photograph or painting of nature holds that power and I desire that my artwork expresses nature's beauty and power and that it will inspire emotion and renew the viewer's energy and purpose and good health. I believe my artwork will transform the space in which it hangs to benefit the viewer - to elevate your spirit, please your senses, renew your purpose, and support your soul. Nature inspires me. Color inspires me as it easily helps to express our emotional tones and dreams and is inseparable from nature. Color is nature's expression of infinite possibility and ingenuity. My photographs are not meant to be realistic.. They represent my memories of experiencing a particular natural place and have a dreamlike quality that tells the story of that experience; how the place affected me, transformed me, inspired me and I hope in turn, does the same ...
Brian Devon - I began taking pictures at a very early age, about 8 if I remember correctly, and soon began to manipulate the images, painting on colors and adding my personal touches to create soft impressionist images. My interest in photography led to further study and eventually a career in commercial advertising and fashion photography and I worked in several studios in Dublin, London and San Francisco. I constantly experimented with the medium of photography, seeking to put my own mark or style on the finished image. I became interested in Pictorialism, a movement started in the late 1860s, it approached the camera as a tool that, like the paintbrush or a chisel, which could be used to make an artistic statement. Thus photographs could have aesthetic value and be linked to the world of art expression. It was my Eureka moment. I learned a lot working at several studios over the years and have hopefully have let that experience develop into my work today. The challenge for me is to capture the energy of the moment, its up to you to judge whether I achieve that. I have been lucky enough to have seek a path to expressing my view of...
Sheri Smith - For the past fifteen years, I have worked on my Capturing Culture series, a body of works on paper, drawn from the audience of live music performances. Sketched in Caran dAche crayon on suede board or with a sharp implement into scratch-board. The pieces portray the performers and often their instruments and parts of the venue. Though ultimately a visual record, the work emerges from a ritualistic creative process which serves to address my feelings about time, creative skill, and visual imagery. The fleeting nature of these performances is central to the work. It is often hard not to see the passing of time as an enemy, but in the case of my work the opposite is true. The impending end of a song, set, or evening offers a sense of freedom, allowing me to work quickly. This rapid pace also dictates my choice of materials. Caran dAche crayons or scratch-boards function best when used quickly and confidently. A darkened venue limits my color palette on the suede board to just what I can see. Additionally, a confined seating space constrains the size of my boards and therefore the number of details I can include. Performances and process ...