For the past 42 years, I have been teaching painting and photography at the college level. At the same time, I have pursued an active painting career.
I have been trained in a traditional manner and am capable of painting figures, portraits, landscapes and still-lifes. However, since the late 1960's, the style of my work has been developing in the direction of the paintings exhibited here.
These paintings result from a process of building that balances intuitive gesture with formal construction. There is a "dialog" that develops between the canvas and me. Marks on the canvas happen intuitively. I then respond to the marks and begin to construct a form from them. When the developing structure begins to look too controlled, I apply more intuitive gestures. This process continues until a balance is achieved between the gestural and the formal elements.
At some point in this process, the subject begins to emerge and the formal structure begins to suggest a resolution. This is when the many elements of painting are carefully taken into consideration: the "poetry" of the color interaction, the quality of the drawing, the "spirit" of the marks and the transformation of the forms into an expressive symbol. These accidental forms and refinements are shaped by years of experience painting landscapes, figures, still lifes and portraits.
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To judge the success of my paintings, I rely on three important qualities.
1.The color must "expand" in richness and contribute to its expressiveness.
(In other words, two ordinary colors placed side by side, should be more beautiful together than each individual color would anticipate.)
2. The draftsmanship should have grace, strength and integrity when expressing volumes and spaces.
3. There should be a challenging proposition inherent in the painting's form that becomes intriguing to the viewer's mind.
The picture plane is a point where two perceptions of reality merge. It is where my experience of the outside world joins with my inner thoughts and feelings. Combining these perceptions leads me to create new symbolic forms that express my re-energized view of the world. Whether the image presents a recognizable subject or remains non-objective, this balance is what gives the work its integrity.
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For more information, please contact me at: amcbride@mcbstudio.com.
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