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about
David Skinner
David
Skinner’s contemporary images of the California
and Blue Ridge landscapes are derived from his deep
respect for the legacy of the California Plein Air
painters and their noble portrayals of light and terrain.
He boldly defines his personal style within the genre
by pushing the boundaries of color and composition,
drawing upon the integrated traditions of the Bay
Area Figurative and Abstract Expressionist movements.
His work showcases his affinity for the light, space,
and radiance of the landscape, his style signifying
an integral understanding of the New York and San
Francisco schools of Rothko and Diebenkorn.
Skinner’s brushwork is loose yet representational
with several layers of paint applied closely to and
interacting with the canvas. Transient colors and
edges suggest a leaning towards transcendentalism;
renderings favor intuitive usage of color and perspective
over straight objectivity.
Skinner interprets the relationship of natural light
with the land through a lens of diverse shades and
tones. Vast, soothing color fields punctuated with
daring, bold elements of flora are quintessential
characteristics of Skinner's unique vision.
Skinner's fine art training includes the University
of California at Santa Barbara and the Master of Fine
Arts program at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.
"After loading the surface with color [achieved
by multiple layers of underpainting, the artist envisions
the emergence of a landscape. Then, with sure brushstrokes,
Skinner defines the image, orchestrates colors and
surfaces above and below, and weaves them into the
final canvas where color from underpainting comes
through, endowing each poetic canvas with bucolic
energy."
*Excerpt by Roberta Carasso PhD., Art Critic Southern
California
ARTIST'S
STATEMENT
For the last 15 years I have been striving for visual
solutions to internal abstractions that are looking
tangible expression.
I entered the University of California at Santa Barbara
in 1986 as a ceramics major but soon found a home
in the painting department. I explored all genres,
from geometric abstraction to figurative expressionism.
After graduation and six months in Paris, I headed
to New York City and a Master of Fine Arts program
at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Feeling
disconnected from the structure of the program there,
I left and continued painting on my own. I ended up
living in New York City for 9 years, traveling extensively
throughout Southeast Asia, India, and Europe during
that time and exhibiting in various galleries.
Then in 1995, after nine months in India and Sri Lanka,
I returned to New York and saw nothing but gray. I
knew it was time to head back home to California and
its particular qualities of light. A transition occurred
on that cross-country voyage, both physically and
emotionally. As the land opened up and the sky overhead
became more vast and brilliant, I understood what
I had been deprived of in the dense confines of New
York City.
Upon reaching Los Angeles and setting up a new studio
and home, I was commissioned to do a landscape painting
for an interior designer. Being more of an abstract
painter at the time, I went looking for inspiration
in different art books and museums. This led me to
the great traditions of the California Plein air painters;
I was hooked, and thus began my exploration of landscape
painting.
Since then I have painted hundreds of images of California,
up and down the coast and into the desert as well.
Each painting begins with a conceived direction but
then becomes transformed as I let certain marks and
colors lead me along until a harmonious end is achieved.
The process of transformation is what keeps my eyes
open to new inspiration along the way.
Landscape painting is an extension of my passion for
nature. As a California native who has seen unrestrained
urban development occur in this state, I create paintings
that honor what's left of our open spaces.
David Skinner |
