James Gorman
Walking through provocative natural landscapes inspires my artwork. Leaf texture, rock aspect, falling water, sky illumination and the shapes in far distance qualify my visual language. There is richness, also, in wild animal forms. I find first hand observation develops mindfulness and sharpens vision. On site I render subjects with color pencil, watercolor or photography. From such visual notes I build a vocabulary for studio production and to answer, to myself, why I'm attracted to these kinds of undamaged nature.
I paint in oil, acrylic and watercolor along with drawing, scratchboard and silk screen printmaking. While working at often difficult to access nature sites I must, sometimes, rely on photography to augment what I see and draw. When I skip the photo step my satisfaction from serving up artwork produced directly from my sensations is enhanced. Currently I am working on many small paintings of subtropical forests I've been traveling to in South East Asia. In searching out waterfalls and textures of aging temple walls or aging surfaces in rural towns I attempt to achieve the precise and radiant character I see.
