L

Artist Statement

THE ORDINARY things that surround us, that fill our lives, these are beautiful to me. Every object reflects light. Even dull objects are reflected in shinier things, and they also cast shadows of their own colors onto the surfaces

where they sit. The way light transforms objects, how it seems to distort them, how it

reflects from one surface to another, fascinates me. So, I focus this fascination using still life compositions of ordinary things, in oil paints,

usually on oil-primed linen. I first develop the composition in detailed drawings, then a value study. I create the underpainting in oil, over which I put down thin layers of color. The glazes accumulate to build depth in the objects and complexity of light and dark.

My desire is to elevate the beauty of ‘ordinary,’ to evoke wonder in us. If my still life paintings help people see the wonder beauty of everyday life, then with each painting you enjoy, I achieve my goal.

 See Lin's currently available work here.  

 Artist Statement

When I paint, I release myself to the process, seeking mental states of flow. I have developed a distinctive visual vocabulary through years of observation and experimentation. Using water based media to play with texture and layers of color that flow and bifurcate, I create evocative personal dreamscapes. My compositions come from drawing, painting, and mono-printing techniques to explore themes which emerge from my subconscious, memories, and experiences. I have been influenced by the Surrealists, Abstract Expressionists, and the Northwest School (among other art canons) in how I use the creative process to explore imagery, process, and emotion. While I stand on the shoulders of giants, I am also unique in how I consolidate my personal experiences into evocative images that are at once personal yet tap into the universal collective consciousness. My work makes connections with spatial juxtapositions playing with metaphors of space and time within the picture plane, often extending within a series of paintings. The artworks record overlapping moments infused with archetypes and narratives. I want to invite the viewer to contemplate figure ground relationships, connecting to a shared psychological experience. It is through art that we can connect in ways that go beyond literal, verbal, and explicit language to a more figurative, ephemeral, and implicit form of communication. 

John's available work at Fogue. 

  ARTIST STATEMENT

I'm an artist in the Outsider tradition, unschooled and self-trained, utilizing found objects and reclaimed materials to construct multi-dimensional, mixed media art pieces that offer a fresh new vernacular.

My work seldom springs from an intentional, well-thought-out plan. My creative process is deeply intuitive. I often utilize objects that are aged and weathered...ones adorned with the well-worn patina of use...because these things speak to me and beg to be redeemed. While observing a group of random objects, I "receive" intuitive insights into what form they intend to become: a process that often takes me outside the boundaries of ordinary reality, placing me in a slightly altered state where I'm free to create from inside a kind of unrestrained magical reality.

Slowly but surely my assemblages spring to life from within this entrancing and sacred space, anointed by my refusal to let physical challenge overpower my deep need to create. They become vessels of voice, speaking for me.

BIO

Although I was born an artist, with a deep need to create, I didn't begin to dedicate myself to my craft until my late 30's. At that point in time, my creative efforts became a much-needed outlet to an often-hectic existence as a real estate broker. Still, it was a starting place, providing me a vehicle through which I could give voice to the passion to make art I'd always felt.    

In 1996, just as my reintroduction to the passionate pursuit of art was taking off, I received a terminal diagnosis and was given two years to live. I made little art in the ensuing years as I struggled with more pressing issues. Twenty-seven years later, disabled but decidedly alive and kicking, the fantastic story of my unprecedented survival can be found in my memoir, 

Will to Endure: Surviving   Terminal Illness by Extraordinary Means, available on Amazon.com.              

Now confined to a wheelchair and speaking impaired…yet undaunted…I rely on printed instructions typed on my computer, an alphabet card to spell out basic words, along with my own form of sign language, to communicate my artistic directions. Today I employ assistants I personally train...my art elves...to bring my creations to life.

See John's available work here