Artist Statement
I paint impressions of the world around me. My impressions are always changing. I am always experiencing things in new ways. The newness is not so new however, mostly it is just a repetition of the past. The past is always developing into the new. The past is a wrinkle in time, just a passing, a flowing from place to place, thought to thought and then hand to brush and brush or pen to canvas or paper. The subject matter of my paintings is always changing and always evolving.
For example, I was painting clay pots that I hand made, and then set up in a still life. These paintings are part of my desire to depict archeological digs that reflect the prehistoric nature of human architecture. The images come out of archeological digs that I imagine. My photographs of these clay pots assist me in creating these imaginary archeological digs. Yet my paintings resemble rather than replicate these places. What I find interesting about this subject mater is that through time and every culture, man needed vessels. There are an infinite variety of pots decorated in countlessly different ways. I want my pot paintings to remind us of our human links that are created through man-made items.
Other work of mine consists largely of interior and exterior buildings and homes. These paintings are part of my desire to depict and interpret places I have seen. Sometimes I draw and paint from photographs and incorporate my own personal memory. Sometimes I paint images that are strictly ones that are preconceived by my own thoughts and feelings. My images are not robotic reactions without any emotions or personality. Instead, I bring my own concepts to remembered places.
While creating my work I always use a strong personal eye to create the image. Like a camera, sometimes my eye is focused and narrow. Other times I wish to create an image as though I have broadened the lens of my camera. When my lens is broad my paintings lack coherency and details and become mood pieces.
My images are fluid. They come out of intuition and freedom that is carried out in a way that is open minded. The images don’t end at the boarder of the canvas nor the paper. They are not centered and stagnant they are ever flowing.
The specific images that I am depicting are landscapes and architectural features. They are derived from my memory of places I have been. Photographs help me remember these places. Yet my paintings resemble rather than replicate these places. My purpose is to demonstrate that each of us may pass the same place, but we don’t necessarily see the same thing.
Sometimes I make a few very playful pieces – not part of a series, just me creating and I hope delighting you.
Lewis Feibelman