SG Expressions

It was once said that Picasso only ever paints himself.  I believe that’s true about most artists in one way or another.

I am a romantic at heart, trying to make a living in a very real world.  I enjoy people and I enjoy very simple things in my every day life.  I feel that my art is a reflection of my own life in this regard.

My art portrays slightly romanticized “slice of life” moments.  My paintings are nostalgic stories of a very simple moment in time.   I enjoy people and stories, both written and in film, as well as fantasy and romance.   These things are what influence and inspire my paintings.  My work has moved away from realism.  I am no longer working to capture a realistic moment, but I am telling a story, an interpretation, of one quick moment frozen in time.  I enjoy creating a tale by exaggerating a person’s expressions or features and romanticizing the environment in which they are captured.   I am always looking for a short story to tell.  A quick expression or moment frozen that is asking to be told in a colorful manner.

Generally, people want their stories told, but are afraid they may be too mundane or boring, but I see the underlying adventure in that quick moment.  I capture those small “slices of life” that have a curiosity.   I then take that very real moment, and then add a dash of drama, a pinch of nostalgia, or a sprinkling of mystery to create my own interpretation of that instant. 

I work in oil paint on canvas.  Although I have worked in other mediums, I have always gone back to the oils.  Oil paint seems to have a life of its own, and a direction when I’m painting that I have not experienced with any other medium.  Oil has an organic feeling to it, that adds a life to the images.