My work in oil is mainly in the alla prima manner and usually directly from life study. Alla prima, direct painting or wet-in-wet, is exciting and often surprising. It is deemed the ultimate in representational art because it is about actual experience as it happens. It demands the highest level of a painter’s skill.
I am inspired by all kinds of subjects and I feel that creating work starts with developing a sensitivity to the beauty present. By ‘beauty’ I mean whatever moves, inspires, intrigues or is simply interesting that I want to study more deeply. Most often it is the quality of light which inspires.
“To me, technique should be unlimited… [with] constant growth in ability and understanding. It must never be mere virtuosity but an endless accumulation of qualities and wisdom… First comes the initial idea for a work – what the artist desires to portray, to bring into concrete manifestation. In order to fulfill this task, he must begin to build, to organize.”
Nicolai Fechin
