Creativity, some say, is “the ability to see what is there.” Do I personify that definition? I hope so.
Seen through my eyes and portrayed by my brush, the common is never mundane and simple things are never plain. Nothing in life is immune to wry observation and careful craftsmanship, as meaning and beauty are everywhere.
Variety. Beauty. Intelligence. Humor. My work has got to be striking and subtle, and not predictable. Everything is of interest, and fun to find in almost everything a story worth telling.
Old and new, clean and dirty, light and shadow – I like to play with contrast and juxtaposition. My paintings move from placid country landscapes to congested streets, where formal print appears beside scrawled graffiti and works of nature shadow acts of man. It is a world of drama and tranquility, life and light cast in various shades.
My suggestion is to look for irony. Protest posters, once loud and bold, are now themselves torn down by someone who did not like them. Illegal squatters preempt and amend the sign posted to forbid access to the land they are using. An incinerated car is inspected nonchalantly by a police officer holding a cigarette.
The intention is to keep the beholders surprised and draw them back again and again to see what they may have missed. Both the general impact and the minute details are there to impress and intrigue, I hope. And there is always more to be seen than may first meet the eye.
Characters in portraits should look alive. They should almost converse with their viewers instead of merely staring back at them.
What kind of an artist am I? A realist, trying not to be pedantic, skilled technician and acute observer of life. But if true art conceals artistry, let me draw you in and engage with my friends, my city, and my stories and please forget about techniques or styles. My subjects should speak for themselves and stimulate your fantasy.
Admire. Study. Smile. You can experience art on many levels: appreciate the beauty, notice the use of color and light, look for the story, what has so far happened and what will happen next, ask of the artist, why this thing to be shown in this way?
Above all, please enjoy with me the celebration of the unpredictable, unbelievable, inconceivable world in which we live, as well as the people who surround us.
With affection.
Andrea
