Artists
ann marie o’dowd amopainting.com
Though Ann Marie didn’t consider herself a painter until recently, art is in her bones. She works in part from an enormous body of black and white photographs that she shot herself on 2-1/4 square cameras. Some date as far back as the early 1980’s when she received her degree in photography at the Massachusetts College of Art. From the assorted shades of gray in those photos, she imagines a full palette of vibrant colors. Fiery red and oranges tend to be favorites though in recent works she has also explored cool shades of blue and green. As with her photography, Ann Marie’s painting feature people, animals and still-life scenes. She likes to see her subjects up-close, a person’s smile, a moment’s mood, and her unique visual language often includes bold strokes and a backdrop of breezy geometric patterns.
clarence major www.clarencemajor.com
Painting for me is about discovering a plastic reality of composition through lines, color and texture. I’m often interested in painting what I feel about what I see rather than what I think I see or remember or imagine. And, yes, I pay attention to ‘push and pull” as I apply the principle to my representational efforts. I want an art that will both give me contentment and at the same time challenge me—a dynamic art. I go through periods when my work is figurative, then all landscapes or interiors or still lifes—often in a neo-expressionist mode. I like to think that I am speaking (through paint) from the depths of my humanity and creativity. I want to make paintings that seem to look back at you with intensity (Rilke). My work is well within the Euro-American Tradition. Painting is the most important activity in my life.
Artists featured from the Pierre Menard Gallery www.pierremenardgallery.com
