Boats on Lake Monroe, 2022

Kent Sullivan  

Artist Statement:

I paint representational landscape paintings.

Within this discipline is an immense field of artistic expression. My own work is often compared to the Hudson River School artists who placed spiritual significance to their landscapes.

Painting a compelling landscape - art inspired by the natural world - is something much broader than simply depicting a beautiful scene. Evoking mood, atmosphere, and breadth is challenging, arduous, and, I might add, a welcome task. Edgar Degas said “Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do." He meant the task can be daunting if you care to move beyond the superficial methods.

In my approach to painting color is very important, but value is even more important. The timbre of each painting is carefully constructed, and usually painted and then modified, studied and modified again until it feels right. I like painting outside from time to time, but I am primarily a studio painter.

I can articulate messages in a painting that I would never be able to communicate with words. It is not uncommon for a person to say “That painting really speaks to me". And paintings surely do. They speak to me, they speak to you. They can express things that have no verbal counterpart. Browns and blacks can speak. Greens and yellows. Their expression is different when placed next to blue, or red, or orange. It is true with all colors. Sharp edges, subtle blends, little texture, much texture, vertical composition, horizontal composition, shades, hues, and the endless ways of using them. This is the vocabulary of the painter. It is my voice.

I really want people to respond to my paintings on an emotional level. I want them to appreciate the painting not just simply as a rendition of a scene, but as something that intrigues them. Something that triggers memories, inspires imagination, and challenges intellect.

Education:

Orlando School of Art B.A.

Awards & Distinctions:

Member of NASA ART AND THE SPACE SHUTTLE team
Art of the National Parks publication
National 1st place winner of the Koshare Kiva Art Competition
Smithsonian Institute
 

Exhibitions:

SEWE 2015, 2017 Charleston, North Carolina
Comma Gallery , Orlando, Florida 2003 Solo Show
Waterwheel Gallery, Fernandina Beach, Florida 2005 Solo Show
M Gallery, Orlando, Florida 2002 Winter Park, Florida Solo Show
 

Professional/Teaching Experience:

Kent Sullivan Fine Art oil painting class. Current.

Artistic Influences:

I'm greatly influenced by many of the landscape painters who historically had a huge impact on American art. Painters like Herman Hertzog, Thomas Moran, Frederic Church, and Albert Bierstadt led the way with tones and compositions that help us see landscape as a message, not just decoration. Contemporaries include artists like Joseph McGurl, and Don Demers.

Tags:

realism, landscape, representationalism, mountains, rivers, forests