For a long time I’ve been interested in the interaction between abstract art and figurative art. I love the colors and freedom of abstract art and the stories and associations of figurative art. Despite this, the art that comes naturally to me is always 100% abstract. In school I did my share of still-lives and various assignments dealing with figurative, but when it’s me and a canvas alone in a room all that ever comes out is abstract.
Because of my struggles with the line between abstract and figurative art, I’m always intrigued to find an artist who has managed to successfully straddle the two. Aaron Smith is one such artist. Below is a video made by John Wesley Whitton about Aaron Smith and his artwork.
Aaron Smith – Fine Art Painter from John Wesley Whitton on Vimeo.
As you can see, Smith sticks close to the figurative and uses color to abstract the people in his paintings. Smith has the ability stay remarkably close to realism while using bright colors and thick paint applied with a palette knife. His paintings, many of which are based on the old photographs that he shows in Whitton’s video, are strongly in the vein of abstract expressionism and remind me of some of Van Gogh’s portraits.
It’s always great to find a new artist to watch, particularly when you’re working on pushing yourself along as an artist. Also, Smith has an entire section of his paintings dedicated to vibrantly colored beards. Who can resist that?
