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Stuart Shils blends atmospheric color effects with
visual references to the physical world in this
painting, Looking Down from Monte Castello,
A Garage with an Open Door.
All works by Stuart Shils.
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No, not Spanish or Italian or French. An artist needs to be fluent
in the languages of realism and abstraction. By realism I mean the formal
aspects of art--the painting techniques and drawing skills we develop over time
through experience. Abstraction is the other side of the coin, the visual
language that frees us to paint and draw what is going on inside our heads. It
means that I may be looking at a tree, but I want to paint power, life, majesty,
and wisdom. The tree becomes a vessel for my message, not the message itself.
The work of Stuart Shils, currently on view at the Davis & Langdale Company in New York, exemplifies the delicate balancing
act between abstraction and realism. His work is attuned to the physicality of
the real world, often referencing landscape, time of day, locale, and
architecture. But his works manifest far more. "I sit in front of nature and
make a response that isn't determined by stylization," he says. "No worrying
about what it is going to look like--just painting."
The results are paintings where a cityscape vista is abstracted
into a striated grid and loosely colored geometric forms. Or the intense heat of a summer
day translates into a vision of hot pink and orange. Shils attempts to capture
a sensory moment, not document every detail his eyes take in. "It isn't a
compulsory or mandatory inventory of what's in front of you," he says. "The
point is to learn how to edit and make choices."
For Shils, being fluent in realism and abstraction means
getting in front of nature on a regular basis, and being ready to do something more. "Look and respond," Shils says.
"Hard looking doesn't kill anything. It nurtures your capacity to see and the
quality of your vision. You can look out there and copy nature, but how about
looking at your painting as well? Ask yourself hard questions about what is
going on in your work."
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Sun Passing Quickly on Lower West Side Buildings, NY
(above). Naples Walls in Late Afternoon Heat (below). |
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Shils' range of subject matter extends from urban to rural
to countryside, and each work gives a distinct, albeit
loosely depicted, impression of time and place. |
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Does that ring true for you? It certainly does for me and my work. Art isn't about painting only one way or being a slave to your subject.
It is about seeing and interpreting, feeling and reacting.
Realistic Abstracts is an instructional guide that shows you how to
paint merging principles of abstraction with elements of realism. Paintings
become powerful and emotive, and you express yourself the way you see fit.
Enjoy!
