The Technique
When I first began painting seriously, in an effort to educate myself, I read a couple of books on the history of art. There were a few things that jumped off the pages at me; different styles and ideas in what I read that really fascinated me. I discovered that I particularly liked intricacy and detail in art.
The amazing woodcuts and engravings of the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer are a great example of this. He is one of my favorites, not only because of the technical skill of his work but also the unbelievable amount of creativity and imagination he posessed. I also found that I was interested in varying degees of color and the separation of color, as in the richly varied and beautiful Byzantine mosaics and in stained glass work. In particular I admired the stained glass work of Louis Comfort Tiffany for the colors he used, as well as the strength and detail of his compositions.
As I read on I discovered the pointillists, and how they developed a painting style based on the separation of small strokes of color. About this time I was also taking an introductory class in oil painting. I loved the richness of the oil colors as opposed to the acrylic paints I had been using. I knew I wanted to paint in oils. I worked hard to learn to paint with oils in a traditional manner, and then gradually I began to experiment and play around with the elements and ideas I had been interested in from my reading.
Eventually I evolved a style of painting I have come to call "cell painting" that is sort of a melting pot of these influences. I call it "cell painting" because in it I break up my subject with layers of random shapes or "cells of color". Then I use a small liner brush to isolate each of these "cells" from one another throughout the entire canvas. It is a time consuming 3 step process to produce a piece of art in this way (see photos and descriptions at right).
The name "cell painting" also has a kind of double relevance. When I worked as a biologist, I spent many days reading slides through a microscope of fish ovaries in cross section. The ovarian structures had "cellular" aspects to their appearance, although they were actually much larger than cells. They were randomly shaped and stained various colors- not too far removed from certain areas of the paintings I am now creating! This was a subliminal influence on the development of my painting style from my former life as a marine biologist that did not occur to me immediately. I think it might explain a certain "organic" feel to my work.
The result, I hope, of my efforts is a work of art that draws in the viewer. My goal is to create something interesting to look at! I enjoy artwork that is a feast for the eyes, filled with detail and subtle intricacies and color variations. I enjoy being creative and using a reference photograph (I usually work from photos I take out on the water or in the Lowcountry woods) as only a starting point, building in colors that are not necessarily found in nature. The technique is always evolving and I am always finding new ways to experiment.
My artwork is a labor of love and I gain satisfaction from every aspect of it. I hope you enjoy it as well! Please feel free to contact me with questions and comments through my contact page or call me in the studio at 843.884.2998. Thanks for visiting the site- Will