I’m a Portrait Painter and genre-painter and sculptor in a naturalistic and realistic style. My inspiration is the character and individuality of my models and subjects. I enjoy working from life. I feel it’s the best way to see the intricacies of the subject's form but also a great way to interact and be inspired by the personality of the life in front of me. Painting is a way of reading the world and getting lost in observing it, but it’s also an interaction, an understanding, and a relationship. Every individual has something that is unique. I'm fascinated to learn each particular person's character, traits, thoughts, and quirks. And no matter how different we are as individuals, there is an underlying element of commonality. We can all relate to art that reveals someone's contained emotions and inner thoughts, that triggers a glimpse into humanity. There is no greater beauty and truth than Nature itself, and I believe that nothing can be made up that is as powerful, grand, or intriguing.
I draw artistic inspiration from many artists, especially the Naturalists of the late 19th century (Emile Fraint, William Bliss Baker), the late 19th Century Russian Realists (Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi), the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, and contemporary artists Bruno Walpoth, Sally Mann, and Nicola Hicks. And I find these artists's quotes particularly apt and inspiring:
I draw artistic inspiration from many artists, especially the Naturalists of the late 19th century (Emile Fraint, William Bliss Baker), the late 19th Century Russian Realists (Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi), the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, and contemporary artists Bruno Walpoth, Sally Mann, and Nicola Hicks. And I find these artists's quotes particularly apt and inspiring:
“We have to teach our eyes to look at nature, and there are many of us who have never seen it and never will.” |
“However clever you may be, Nature is your superior; however great your talent, she is greater: and if you only obey her you are sure to not be beside the mark. Great artists are truthful, and it is Nature who has taught them truth.” |
