Artist Statement
Daegan – studio assistant
Over the course of the past 12 years, my work has evolved from a photo-based realism to a concept-based ‘surrealism’. Architectural imagery continues to be the main focus, occasionally venturing into pure landscape and object ‘portraits’.
What began as paintings of actual buildings and places, had become through increasingly rigorous editing, simplified and minimalist images that had very little connection to the original photographic references.
Eventually, photographs were avoided altogether, relying instead on memory and personal musings to design images that were evocative of real places, but were not any place in particular. I was striving for timeless images that occupy the realm between the real and the surreal, between landscape and ‘dreamscape’. More recently, I have begun to reconsider photography as a reference tool – not as something to paint from, but as a confirmation of fleeting moments; for instance, as briefly seen from a car window at 100 km/h. One can only expect so much from sight and memory.
The paintings begin with very small pencil sketches, often just a quick scribble to capture the image formed in my mind’s eye. In some cases, a slightly more developed sketch will explore the effects of light, which is almost always critical to the final painting. The image is then constructed as a pencil drawing on a canvas. Depending on the complexity of the image and the perspective drawing required, this process can be quite time-consuming. Once the base drawing is completed, acrylic paint is mixed to a thin consistency and applied in many layers ranging from opaque base tones to transparent glazes. The process involves a bit of ‘give and take’ until the desired effect is achieved. Despite what some viewers have assumed, my images are created with brushwork only. There is no use of masking tape or any mechanical process. Occasionally, a ruling pen is used to facilitate the rendering of straight lines, such as clapboard siding on buildings.
When the painting is completed (which may take up to three or four weeks for the most complex images) it is photographed and then varnished, which protects the painting and enhances the surface finish.
John Ovcacik
March, 2010
Chelsea, Quebec