Artist Statement for Artisans and Tradesmen Series
Growing up with my grandmother who was a painter and many of my relatives who were tradesmen had an impact on my interests as a painter. I remember how I studied my grandmother’s paintings and was fascinated with the beautiful colors and textures. As a child and into later years in life I spent many hours working alongside family, remodeling, building, logging and working with concrete. These experiences are the inspiration for my paintings.
Artisans and Tradesmen is a series of oil paintings depicting people working in a traditional hands-on-mode in spite of a modern world run by computers and computer operated machines that mass produce. This series entered the developmental stage a couple of years ago when I moved near Haight Street in San Francisco. After numerous times walking down Haight Street I noticed that I looked every time with amazement into a little shoe repair shop. I was fascinated with the shop that was cluttered with shoes, old boots, high heels, and an old Singer sewing machine. The same man was always working. He was a unique looking older man either behind the counter or using the old Singer sewing machine. Each time I saw the shop, I thought to myself, this would be a compelling painting. After numerous times peering into the little shoe repair shop I decided to talk with the proprietor about doing a painting of him. After receiving his permission, I worked with the gentleman and did the painting, Haight Street Shoe Repair. After the success of the painting I decided to start the series Artisans and Tradesmen.
I am always searching for scenes that catch my eye to develop into paintings. I found that I am drawn to environments that are busy in nature. The Artisans and Tradesmen series allows me to create a complex environment onto a two-dimensional surface giving an illusion of space and depth. I often feel like I am taking a two-dimensional surface and sculpting a three-dimensional world onto it.
Artisans and Tradesmen is a series of oil paintings depicting people working in a traditional hands-on-mode in spite of a modern world run by computers and computer operated machines that mass produce. This series entered the developmental stage a couple of years ago when I moved near Haight Street in San Francisco. After numerous times walking down Haight Street I noticed that I looked every time with amazement into a little shoe repair shop. I was fascinated with the shop that was cluttered with shoes, old boots, high heels, and an old Singer sewing machine. The same man was always working. He was a unique looking older man either behind the counter or using the old Singer sewing machine. Each time I saw the shop, I thought to myself, this would be a compelling painting. After numerous times peering into the little shoe repair shop I decided to talk with the proprietor about doing a painting of him. After receiving his permission, I worked with the gentleman and did the painting, Haight Street Shoe Repair. After the success of the painting I decided to start the series Artisans and Tradesmen.
I am always searching for scenes that catch my eye to develop into paintings. I found that I am drawn to environments that are busy in nature. The Artisans and Tradesmen series allows me to create a complex environment onto a two-dimensional surface giving an illusion of space and depth. I often feel like I am taking a two-dimensional surface and sculpting a three-dimensional world onto it.