Dreyer Fine Arts

PHILOSOPHY REGARDING MY WILDLIFE PAINTINGS

Currently I am taking a fairly singular approach in my wildlife work. I attempt to create a physical presence of the animal with the viewer. This is why I work almost exclusively lifesize (or bigger) to bring the animal literally into the room with the viewer, and to highlight the complexity of patterns, color and structure inherent in natural creation. There is nothing which gives you a greater understanding of a thing than to try to recreate it. Working large and with such detail is nothing less than awe inspiring. My hope is that some of that wonder and beauty finds its way to the viewer. Where appropriate I attempt to have the animal actually interacting with the viewer in some way and I design my paintings to be viewed from the angle of the large wall, or over mantle spaces, they are intended to occupy.

PHILOSOPHY/APPROACH TO PORTRAITURE

A portrait should never be a simple mirroring of an image, but rather, a true reflection of an individual. The first would be more akin to a "still life" - the art of painting inanimate objects. Portraiture on the other hand deals with the very vibrant lives of very real human beings, even when done posthumously.

While this seems rather obvious, it is vitally important to always remember that the subject matter is humanity, not an inanimate likeness. With adults, it requires the ability to identify broad personality themes evident in an individual’s life which help define that individual through their life’s work as uniquely human and important people. It also requires a specific human understanding and the ability to translate that to a two-dimensional space. If you have ever seen portraits that appear flat or lifeless, you know what I mean. That is why being an accomplished portrait artist requires more than being just an artist, and why, in my opinion, many excellent artists find portraiture so difficult.

While I have heard portrait artists talk about capturing "the soul" of their subjects, few explain how that happens. This is after all just canvas and medium we're working with. More correctly, a skilled portrait artist has the empathetic skill and knowledge of nonverbal cues to properly identify that nonverbal communication and the ability to translate the subtleties of it correctly on a two-dimensional space. People are "herd animals" and communicate non verbally continuously. Knowledge and use of those subtle cues literally can create an illusion of animation in the subject because the viewer feels the human connection. The ability to capture accurate likeness while transmitting emotion inherent in the physical non verbal cues, creates exceptional portraits.

I do not consider a portrait successful unless it consists of 3 levels – 1. an unmistakable physical likeness (which should be a given), 2. an emotional recognition, for example, a familiar look or expression which puts the viewer emotionally in touch with the portrait subject, and finally 3. a “liveliness” which makes the amalgamation of canvas, pigment and medium “human.” The portrayal is so natural and comfortable that the subject feels real. You should not look at the canvas and see an image – you should see a person. As I put it, “When you look at the portrait’s smile, you find yourself smiling back.”

My objective is always fairly simple: to create a portrait that comes off of the canvas and into the room with the viewer, both physically and emotionally.

The illusion of bringing an image "off of the canvas" can be done with technique. However, connecting the viewer with the subject emotionally, and creating a human quality, is much more challenging. Capturing the subtle nuances of the individual requires not just artistic skill but an empathetic ability to see and read people, and identify their unique physical and emotional qualities.

A camera can do the first two levels, it takes the undefinable "human" abilities of a portrait artist to achieve the third. When successful – the result is truly a cherished heirloom.