Artists Describing Their Art:
Shannon Russell - Artist Statement I use color like a knife. Segmenting dissecting redefine, constantly searching for what makes a shape or look. What makes something that defines a figure or portrait. What subjects look like? Most of my work is based off of celebrities and figures in the press. All of my subjects come with certain preconceived notions attached and I search these out through the use of color, texture or light. I work in oil paint, specifically for it tonal quality. The pure pigment used with and archival medium, applied to a snow-white ground, achieves a certain level of light penetration that makes my work seem like stain glass in full sunlight. That theme of light penetrating seems to travel throughout my work. Whether I am painting objects or like my most recent work concentrating on figure and portraits. I use light to define the color and to make a skeletal structure to break open the emotional connections of subjects and viewers. If you examine someone and see the colors that dance across their skin as light passes over and through it, you will understand where my painting is coming from. It is just a moment a glance into that ...
Ajmal Maharaj - Painting to me is a cultural tool that does its own work in multicomplexity of events, meaning and purposes to enhance life in a positive way. Music is a mojor inluence on my work and infact, its a cultural energy that formulates the essence of meaning and content of my work. I belive that a culture that is nature bound is an absolute condition for human survival, its sustainance and celeberation....
Alexander Sadoyan - My paintings are inspired from the human life in conjunction with landscape of nature's abstract color-forms.With association of color and shapes,I strive to communicate my feelings and convey inner-personal emotions.Memories,experiences are the essence of my esthetical awareness which find visual language of there own inseparable from the future and exists into absolution....
Steven Derks - Artist Statement: Color field Paintings & Gridscapes My work is best described as accidental beauty or Shibui as the Japanese call it. It's my job to reconstruct those accidents with diverse methods yet a consistent result. The two most important tools in my work are a stick to push and pull paint around, and the sun, to accelerate the drying. The desert is the perfect place to make this work. While the painting is in the sun cracking and crazing may happen. Placing a painting in the sun to dry is similar to putting ceramics in a kiln. I can anticipate the results but I can't always predict what will happen. Picasso used to say, " Painting is stronger than me. It makes me do things I normally wouldn't do". I'm influenced by Turners skies, Rothko's compositions, and Richter's method of pulling paint. STEVEN DERKS ...
Sandi Carpenter - Due to my endless curiosity and wide range of interests, my work has evolved over the years. Just as a musician would change instruments to perfect the mood and rhythm created, I enjoy moving from one medium to another, be it French dyes on silk, watercolor or acrylic. I am always hopeful that the magic I feel in creating these images will be felt by the viewer with similar intensity. I believe it is only then that art really lives....
Renso Castaneda - From Peru, I have been painting about 10 years, I have always been mesmerized by the human form, my current work concentrates on the nude, and surrealism, and the medium that I use is oil. My interest is focused in the different aspects of the human relationship, the feelings, the emotions, love, and pain. When I paint I like to add drama by adding light and shadow enhancements to get more _expression to accent the theme of every painting. I have several collectives exhibitions and 15 solo show, I have been showing my artwork in South America, United States, and Europa (Spain) ...
Bé Van Der Heide - Artist Statement I do work mostly in series. The images shown in my portfolio are examples of different series all executed over the last ten years. Some of the latest series such as "Dance of the transient forms" and "Collapse" have recently been exhibited in the Mas Poch Gallery in Spain. The most extensive series is called the "ENFANT TERRIBLE" series. These are drawings and paintings, mostly of a little girl and her family and friends. The rather menacing images of a seemingly helpless frightened little girl, being held tight or prettied up with bows in her hair, are inspired by photographs in my family album. In these drawings I am not interested in a photographic likeness, but I try to express a feeling about these people in the pictures. Part of the series were shown in the LCP Gallery in London during summer 2002 and in the Mas Poch Gallery in Spain November 2003. The series before "Enfant Terrible" is called: "WEBS", inspired by the sight of insects, leaves, dried up larvae; all caught in a Spiders web underneath a box on top of one of my work tables in the studio. They have been considerably enlarged; some paintings...
Sampat Nayakawadi - I have been born & brought up in a village. The artist in me took shape in rural surroundings. Many sacraments of village are imbibed on my mind. I observed many changes taking place in villages. The impressions are still fresh in my mind. The smell of the soil enthralls me. Like nature, the innocent, tranquil & straight Forward rustics appear natural. They are one with nature. They never appear to me different. To interpret their oneness with nature. I selected the common man from the common village. This common man is the central and golden point in my painting. This common is so one with nature that I only sees the outward appearance of him. Many colors are visible in the village. However I specially see the red color. I am impressed by tiles of the houses; walls, red dust spreading in the atmosphere, gray, mossy and white soiled walls. Nestled among the small hills and mounds, the scattered village houses catch my attention. The shape emanating from these houses imbibe on my mind. The sparking light on water during moonlight night, the dark of in the morning & in the evening create mystery. Such sights hide deep into the inner mind, ...