About
"German"
"German McKenzie"
Artist StatementI am a contemporary representational painter working in both environments, outdoors (Plein Air) and studio work. I develop the majority of my artwork primarily in oils.
When I am outdoors many subjects grab my attention. I stop and analyzed the shapes, the patterns, the contrast in lights, etc. After a good evaluation of the subject, I proceed to paint it on the canvas. Most of the subjects speak to me one way or another, sooner or later. They say something intangible about the day and time of the place. Although my artwork is not necessarily subject-driven, I find myself painting the overlooked and simultaneously familiar aspects of everyday life. I tend to ignore scenes that I pass by frequently, and I barely take time to fully consider them because of the rush of the day or the chaos we are living in today. Eventually, it is in these quite unadorned places I took for granted that make the most worthy subjects.
The Studio work is more on the line of storytelling where I compose using different sources to make the story, it is more intense and required more time. In many cases, the Plein air paintings serve as preliminary studies for a studio painting.
I am after the aesthetic results and not the replication of the subject. I am after what the place evokes in me and not the similarities of the site, and that is what the viewer will find in both types of my artwork.
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