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I paint in the classical realist
style, starting with an under painting and working in layers. I was
fortunate enough to study these techniques with Nancy Conrad, a student
of Jacques Maroger.
Maroger, former technical director of
the Louvre laboratory and president of the Society of Restorers of
France, researched the lost painting formulas of the Old Masters, which
he published in The Secret Formulas and Techniques of the Old Masters in
1948. Maroger Medium offers qualities of permanence, transparency,
shadow, brilliance and luminosity that bring a special quality to the
painting. The medium has the consistency of a gel but performs like a
liquid under the brush.
I mix many of my own colors from dry
pigments mixed with ‘black oil’. ‘Black oil’ is the basis for all of
Maroger’s mediums.
A Little More about me...
Artistic has always been a trait used
to describe me but not until recently have I ever referred to myself as
an Artist. Although this path was not clear to me, others may say they
always knew it. My 7th grade teacher once told me, during after school
detention, that she fully expected me to become a successful comedian or
artist. Luckily class clown does not equate to comedy. Also
recognizing my enjoyment for art, my aunt introduced me to Nancy
Conrad. From Nancy, I learned to oil paint in the classical style, the
proper use of Maroger Medium, and the formulas for making the medium.
Over the years I continued to paint but only considered it a hobby. The
hobby grew into a passion but it would be a long time before I would
pursue that passion with any serious intentions.
The road to arrive at this point in my
career has not been direct. I started college for engineering and
finished with business and horticulture. For over 10 years, my brother
and I owned and operated a lawn and landscape company in Baltimore
County, giving me the opportunity to use my talent to design
landscapes. In 2004 we sold the company and my wife and I moved to
Delaware where I began working as a loan officer. The slow real estate
market and tougher lending regulations have made the mortgage business
difficult and unfulfilling; however it has given me the opportunity for
the first time to commit fully to painting.
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