I owe such a debt of enjoyment to much to my artist friends and teachers Carol Stone and Millie Van Sickle.
Millie introduced me to painting with a pallet knife. It has helped me to approach creating art with a contemporary feel because it prevented me from relying on the tendency to tighten the work into a traditional rendering. Whenever I have a sable brush in my hand my years of classical painting just seem to take over. I blend shape and model like you would expect a traditional portrait artist to do. It’s an enjoyable challenge to use the design, composition and spatial training in my contemporary paintings to make a pleasing image.
God has been gracious to help me come up with work, more excepted in the way people in the Portland area decorate their living spaces in a contemporary style.
I do love the gift of classical portraiture that Carol taught me over these 20 years. I have been so blessed with the opportunity to paint some portrait commissions, last year and this year. I’ve been able to take the hand of my old friend, portrait painting and have some good times. I do find the expressiveness and techniques of contemporary painting spilling over into my portrait work. When you experience the spontaneity of pallet knife, it’s a little difficult to keep the artist within the limitations of a classical purist approach. As my good friend Susan Wells often say’s, “It’s kind of like herding cats.”
