Artist’s Statement
Perhaps I’m a landscape or floral painter. Whatever the case, it’s the light and the drama it creates which is the real subject of my work, and has fascinated me since childhood. Painting affords me the opportunity to study and interpret light and its ability to create shadow, model form, punctuate textures, define space, set a mood, and emphasize the subtleties of color. Sometimes I'm inspired to embellish or simplify what I see. Whatever is done, I aim for the viewer to examine the reality I consider before me.
Nature is my greatest source of inspiration, so many of my paintings emerge from my love of the landscape. Painting primarily in oil, sometimes in casein, gouache or transparent watercolor, I’m currently pursuing realist renderings of pastoral landscapes and floral compositions. I enjoy intensely lit scenes, especially those bathed in the glow of late afternoon light, which creates long shadows and reflects a vibrant palette. Light and shadow (value) are the main characters in my paintings.
My interest in landscapes emerged from my commute to and from the high school where I was a teacher in a rural area of New Jersey long known for sprawling family farms. The high school was a magnet school for its agricultural program. It’s no wonder that many of my paintings give witness to my fascination with agricultural forms (buildings and equipment) along with the textures, colors and play of lights and shadows on farmland. My “Georgic” works mark a move away from merely realistic representations of a farmland. Instead, it hopes to promote inquiry into the many ways we relate to farmland now. The farms I paint are “small” family farms in comparison to those now managed by mega corporations. While some people still work directly with the land of course, most people are oblivious to the machinations of farming and food productions. The family farm is a dying species. For most Americans, farms are most alive in our imaginations, in the stories and images we string together as we construct in our minds an image of our country. This is a complicated story, of course, one without a clear narrative. I mean to call attention to the farm, not just as an observable landscape, but as the ephemeral image that we manipulate in our minds.
Additionally, the color and form of flowers have been a source of inspiration in my work for as long as I can remember. I’m enjoying the return to them as subject matter not only for their obvious beauty, but also as a means to communicate ideas to the viewer, such as in my painting entitled “Of Thee I Sing.”
Recently I visited The Ghost Ranch, New Mexico staying for a week to study and paint the landscape. I was transfixed by the differences in the form, textures, and colors of the land unlike anything I’d ever seen on the east coast. The wide expanse of flat land gave rise to hills of yellow, pink, orange, red and lavender. The desert grasses and green bushes contributed contrast; texture and movement giving life to the mostly latent earth, while blue and purple mountains punctuated the horizon were Pedernal stood dominating the ever glorious skyscape. It was only from this immersion in the landscape that I really understood the reality in Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings and her love for this land. Not surprising the experience inspired me to paint a body of work reflecting my perception of the exquisite beauty of this relatively untouched landscape. The experience reinforced my fascination with the singular beauty of land and the surrounding atmosphere. Whether it’s pristine or farmed, the perpetual beauty of the land is a well of inspiration for my work.
- Pat Proniewski
