In a recent interview, artist Chuck Rosenthal was asked what he wanted the viewer to know about a painting. His wonderful, almost poetic answer is:
The artist replied, “I like to show the paint to the viewer with brushwork in some areas of the painting, but like all artists and particularly the most successful ones, I want the viewer to be able to participate in the work. I want the viewer to feel that if it’s a landscape, it’s a place where he wants to be. If the artwork is a still life, it should have some ineffable familiarity to the viewer, and create a feeling that ‘this is right, I know this.’”
“That is the universal impingement of a really good piece of artwork. I want the viewer to be able to escape for a moment into my painted world that has, in the viewer’s eyes, a rightness, a balance of placement and light values that is in agreement with the viewer’s own internal universe.”
One can view Rosenthal’s paintings on his website www.chuckrosenthalfineart.com. A 16×20 oil painting, “Houses on the Marshland,” may be viewed as an example. The bright colors pull the eye of the viewer in, even before distinguishing what the painting is about. But what you find out is that it’s about that bright shining sun, which reflects on the orange and yellow grasses and water and contrasts with the shadowy blues in the foreground. The houses in the background are almost secondary.
The artist paints actual places, rather than things he makes up in his mind, but really the location in the painting was only there at one point in time. The sun changes, the light changes. Because it is now on canvas, it is captured perpetually, a single moment in time. Now it can also be captured in the mind of the viewer.
Have a look at the still life “Grapes and Nectarine” (also on the artist’s website). Although this painting has been sold and now graces someone’s living or dining room, or perhaps the den, it gives you a taste of what the artist meant when he was talking about “ineffable familiarity to the viewer” and to create a feeling of “this is right, I know this.”
The textures in the painting appear so real that you think you could reach out and touch them – but they are just paint – just paint applied by an expert. The grapes look so cool and smooth against the thick, rough cloth on which they rest.
Visit the artist’s website and enjoy viewing these paintings and others, and making your own contribution. You may now have a new viewpoint since you have read what the artist said.
Looking to find the best deal on oil paintings, then visit www.chuckrosenthalfineart.com to find the best advice on still life for you.
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