I have a fondness for the city... so naturally I was drawn to Colin Page's work
He captures all their vibrancy
Their warmth
Their colors
Their life
and their light.
Colin Page paints many other subjects I have chosen just to feature the one of the city... to see more of his work go to his web page and see his work.
Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery in Stowe Vermont,
Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland Maine
Oyster in Portland Maine
F.A.N. Gallery in Philadelphia, Pa.
Posts
8 comments:
Love his use of colours
Yes, Colin's work is magical!
Faye
Yes, Colin's work is magical!
Faye
Hi Diane, Colin's paintings are awesome.
I just spent a week painting with him in Maine and it is really amazing to watch him pull these together.
He has a great sense of color and design.
Another good choice of artists to feature!
great piece, fabulous combination of colors!
I gravitate towards Richard Estes and Edward Hopper, and I find similar desirable features of those artists in the work of Mr. Page. The similarity with Hopper is evident in the semi-abstract aspects in which Colin Page arranges shape, tone and hue in their ability to capture mood - specifically, the serene and pensive, albeit, more upbeat - a lot more upbeat - than Hopper. For me, the similarity with Estes is less evident, and after consideration, I believe it is due to Colin Page's skill - perhaps natural skill - with color and tone rendering. Estes has described his process of working from photographs, very large photographs, and his earlier depictions carry the accuracy of the light of the moment probably through a very gradual and painstaking process. I have been told many times that Colin Page is a very fast painter. This kind of ability matched with the aforementioned skills is a rarity, and I think it allows him to capture light and in that very moment. Many, many paintings of skilled artists lack this dynamic in-the-moment quality because they may be done in the studio or finalized in the studio, and thus such paintings, though technically well-done, have an inert and artificial feel. Some of Mr. Page's larger plein air works, especially if they are in the situation of waning light, can be seen to have cursive script-like properties. His smaller works, which I believe he may feel less rushed to complete, in the race against time, so to speak, tend to be true to the moment as well as more exact in deliberation. I recall vaguely an article regarding the science of visual perception that noted that one of the earlier stages of visual perception deals only with the tones and hues of light rather than specific contour details. I believe it is at this level that Expressionism operates and perhaps it is the accuracy of rendition of light at this level that Colin Page in modes of Expressionism matches Richard Estes in Photo-realism. At any rate, from my viewpoint, the younger artist, at his best, remains sorely underappreciated in press and print, though the blogosphere is catching up, or perhaps, is superceding.
Since I ran long, I thought I'd just add this quote by the artist, Gary Stephan:
"It is not what the world is like. It is what the world is like to be seen. It's what the world is like to be thought. What the world is like to be made."
See also:
http://www.marlboroughgallery.com/artists/estes2008/artwork.html
I agree with everything you say. I am also a painter and studied under
Gianni Cilfone. We painted outside in all kinds of weather in Chicago... and the light shown thru. I have always been drawn to works like Colin's because they capture the moment and the painting breathes!
Hi Diane,
thanks again for the post about my work. I like seeing what you chose to point out in the paintings. And I am really interested in the anonymous response to my work in the comments section here. I wish I could see that person's work, or find out who it is. It's a very well written description of my work.
Thanks again,
Colin
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