Birth of Modernism by Gary Ruddell, oil/panel, 40 x 40 in. All images courtesy Gallery Henoch, New York City.

The best painters understand that they work to create an illusion. The sleight of hand that comes along with realist painting can be especially compelling when it hides in plain sight—when artists take on subjects that are almost diametrically opposed to the flat surface of their canvases and make paintings that resonate as powerfully as the subject itself.

Movement and physical action are exemplary subjects for such formal play. One would expect them to be the downfall of brush and pigment, but when treated innovatively, the power and force of motion can actually be amplified. That innovation was on display recently in a show aptly titled “Stop Motion” at Gallery Henoch, in New York City.

		Jade Reaction by Alexandra Pacula, oil/canvas, 70 x 52 in.

Gary Ruddell teases out the speed of motion of the human body in his painting Birth of Modernism, which features a figure whirling a bright yellow hula-hoop around his neck. The environment is abstracted, and so is the figure, whose cyclonic motion blurs his edges. His wide stance, jutting right leg, and the forward thrust of his torso all attest to the extreme power and force of his motion. His head is a streaky smear, and the hazy yellow halo around parts of his body and shadow seems to suggest that the energy he’s generating is too much for the picture plane to contain.

In Jade Reaction, artist Alexandra Pacula showcases the frenetic energy of a cityscape whizzing by. With each gestural mark of paint, the artist creates the optical effects one experiences when moving quickly through a neon-lit city at night. As you bounce around, the object of your eye appears to, as well. Pacula’s syncopation of motion is, however, studied and deliberate; so much so that taking even one element away from the composition would leave a remarkable void.

Portal #2 by Eric Zener, oil/canvas, 48 x 60 in.

Eric Zener takes viewers poolside in Portal No. 2, just as someone or something has created a picture-perfect splash on the surface of the water. The cause of the movement is of little significance. Instead, the focus is on the light effects of water in motion. To that end, the artist shows the water’s movement in several ways: a transparent screen through which we can see reflections of the blue surface of the water and the green of the trees and shrubs beyond the pool’s lip; a frothy build-up of bubbles in the center of the splash. Dabs of white paint indicate far-flung stray droplets of water, and brushstrokes pulled across the wet surface of the right side of the splash give a sense of the water’s movement.

Maybe not the stuff of rabbits out of hats or quavering assistants sawn in half, but transporting an object from three-dimensions to two is a masterful illusion. Capturing similar effects in your work starts with skill, innovation, and mastering essential techniques. Two DVDs created by practicing artists can help you learn these techniques in manageable sections, enabling you to quickly apply them to your creative practice. In his DVD Anatomy for Artists: Man in Motion Larry Withers reveals how the human body, from head to toe, reacts when being propelled through space. The second edition includes additional footage that provides further insight into the movements of the body. Carl Dalio’s Sketching in Perspective is a great resource for figuring out how to situate forms in space. Both of these can guide you toward achieving the believable effects realist painters strive for.

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