Realism today comprises a myriad of working styles that derails any effort to define it based on select studio practices—such as whether an artist works primarily from life or from photographs. Nor can realism be equated with an effort to capture exacting detail, which would leave out the probing vision of Degas.
How an artist paints is as important as what he or she paints. Enhance your work with realism, the most indigenous art form, a product of its own time derived from keen observation and direct experience with present reality. The artists featured in this issue fall within this singular vision. Their works are sophisticated images of contemporary city and town life that demonstrate noble study, native talent, and a genuine interest in the people, places, and things in their lives.