Dennis Crayon

Artist Statement:

I participated in a six-week archeological at Pompeii in 1998, I was privy to sights that have shaped and directed my artistic vision to this day.

We had access to a lot of the houses that tourists don't get into. One of the houses had these incredible fresco paintings that in some places looked as fresh as the day they were painted and in other places were really beat up because of the destruction from Vesuvius. Some of the areas had just been so protected, you could see the brushstrokes...and all the incredible realism, and then you'd also have the deterioration in the walls.

Education:

I've earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design from the State University of New York and later earned a diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in painting. It was there that he began to learn classical painting. I later moved to Washington, D.C., and studied at the Zoll Studio of Fine Art in Timonium, Maryland, fully delving into classical painting techniques and trompe l'oeil.

Exhibitions:

SOLO and FAIRS
2018 – SuperFine Art Fair – Washington, DC
2016 – The Art League – Alexandria, VA
2015 – Gallery Underground – Crystal City, VA
2014 – John Zaccheo Fine Art – Manchester Center, VT
2013 – The Arts Barn – Gaithersburg, MD
NATIONAL & GROUP SHOWS
2016 – Winter Salon International Guild of Realism, The Marshall Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2016 – 11th Annual International Juried Exhibition, Gallery 1261, Denver, CO
2016 – Road Trip, Gallery Underground, Crystal City, VA
2016 – International Juried Show of Contemporary Trompe l'Oeil and Still Life,
Peto Museum, Island Heights, NJ

Artistic Influences:

I merge artistic elements of the 20th Century and classical realism. I have been influenced contemporary realism and by artists Caravaggio and Claudio Bravo as well as Pompeian wall frescoes.

Tags:

Realism, oil painting, vivid color, flowers, photorealism, still life.