“Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes… Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is an exploration into unknown areas.” ~ Arshile Gorky
Jim Klein leads us through an exploration of his recent work of art Metro Forest. While breaking from the traditional look of an acrylic painting, Metro Forest is a painting awash in warm bronze and autumn gold tones.
What was the inspiration behind the title of Metro Forest?
Jim: The paints I used spoke of experimentation, especially with how they separated and settled. Something about the composition spoke metropolitan, but there is also an organic feel. And I love it most when visitors bring their own interpretations behind the titles so I don’t want to over explain my own impressions.
What is the story behind the technique we see in Metro Forest?
Jim: This was the result of experimentation with dilution, color, and a lot of experimentation with acrylic paint.
Thankfully this experiment turned out quite interesting.
Painting in itself is the combination of relationships between the canvas, the wash and the colors. The paints and level of dilution will change as they settle on a final color when absorbed into the canvas. Sometimes the paints will dilute further than I intend or separate, but it all works towards the final piece.
As an artist, you never try to duplicate a painting and all your works are original. For fans of this style, are there other examples of your work with a similar dilution style?
Jim: I have several paintings that feature a similar look. Misty Mountains is a very popular example.
Pool of London is another (large) piece I used a dilution technique on. In fact, I worked on Pool of London on the sidewalk outside the Art Factory because it’s so big. One challenging aspect of painting outside in Scottsdale is that paint dries very quickly because it’s so dry. Fortunately for me, the weather was nice and I tuned into this really productive mode. Things were just flowing! A couple of basic colors spoke to me, I went after it and Pool of London really came together.
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