I have always been drawn to the artwork of surrealists and surealism. The imaginative, dreamlike imagery that conjures a world without limitations has intrigued me ever since I was in a teenager. I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth back in 2004 and view the exhibit "From Caravaggio to Dali". It was an extraordinary collection of surrealist artwork by Max Ernst, Caravaggio, Dali and many others. This was the first time I had ever seen these pieces in person instead of an art book. The colors and technique blew me away. Some of the work I had never seen before so it was really exciting.
I couldn't believe the photographic detail by Caravaggio. It was like stepping back in time into a village during the renaissance. He apparently was one of the first artists to employ a photo realistic art style during the 1500's. I had never seen the art of Max Ernst before and was enthralled by his creativity and vision. And of course, to see original pieces by Salvador Dali was a dream come true. He has been such a powerful influence on my own artistic style. He truly knew how to capture his dreams in oil and really didn't care what anyone thought. I have never seen anyone else so far advanced for his time, way before computer generated imagery, that was able to paint the intangible with grace and beauty mixed with the abstract quality of nightmarish subject matter.
In fact, as soon as I returned home, I was inspired to finish a piece of art I had been working on for the last year entitled: "Expand Your Mind-Feed From The Tree". It was one of the largest, most complex pieces of art I had made up until that point. It contains over 150 record albums ranging from The Allman Brothers to Frank Zappa and everything in between. If you look at the base of the smiling tree right next to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, you will see my cat Floyd (a black Bombay that was named after my favorite band) who sat in my lap as I painted. He died within weeks of the exhibit at the ripe old age of 14.
As an intuitive artist, I love to be inspired by other creative minds and concepts. I also trust the process of executing the imagery and juxtaposing it in such a way that no one has ever seen before to inspire others.
I couldn't believe the photographic detail by Caravaggio. It was like stepping back in time into a village during the renaissance. He apparently was one of the first artists to employ a photo realistic art style during the 1500's. I had never seen the art of Max Ernst before and was enthralled by his creativity and vision. And of course, to see original pieces by Salvador Dali was a dream come true. He has been such a powerful influence on my own artistic style. He truly knew how to capture his dreams in oil and really didn't care what anyone thought. I have never seen anyone else so far advanced for his time, way before computer generated imagery, that was able to paint the intangible with grace and beauty mixed with the abstract quality of nightmarish subject matter.
In fact, as soon as I returned home, I was inspired to finish a piece of art I had been working on for the last year entitled: "Expand Your Mind-Feed From The Tree". It was one of the largest, most complex pieces of art I had made up until that point. It contains over 150 record albums ranging from The Allman Brothers to Frank Zappa and everything in between. If you look at the base of the smiling tree right next to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, you will see my cat Floyd (a black Bombay that was named after my favorite band) who sat in my lap as I painted. He died within weeks of the exhibit at the ripe old age of 14.
As an intuitive artist, I love to be inspired by other creative minds and concepts. I also trust the process of executing the imagery and juxtaposing it in such a way that no one has ever seen before to inspire others.
No comments:
Post a Comment