Thursday, September 20, 2007

The Lion, the Knife and the abstract





Art Over Lunch #2

James Stroud is an emerging artist in the nature genre because of his unique method of capturing his subjects. James largely uses the palette knife to create abstract images of Africa's most engaging animals. I actually had the pleasure to see some of James' work in one of the world's premiere nature galleries on Las Olas Blvd in Ft. Lauderale named "Call of Africa." My first impression was most memorable as bursts of color and surprising shapes kept altering my inclination to see the animals in a typical realist setting. These images don't compare to a face to face encounter being toe to toe with the canvas, but if you look close, you will see the wonderful tapestry James weaves with color delivered with a palette knife. Those textured colors on the elephant's and lion's head are not brush strokes. As a frame of reference, think about James next time you pick up a butter knife and imagine the handwork it would take to accomplish this. Inspiring for me.

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