James Gaar

About the Artist

“I see the task of the artist as that of a visual problem solver. We are given an arsenal of various tools such as line, color, composition, texture and style as aids to solving our painting challenges. My on-going artistic journey has been a lengthy process of developing my technical skills and material selections, combined with the discovery of subject matter I find interesting and challenging.

My work process has obviously evolved over many years. I have experimented with a wide variety of methods, from detailed drawings for paintings using extensive reference material, to just jump in with no plan at all and see where it takes me. I have had varying degrees of success with both methods, but these days I'm much better at deciding which method will give me the best intended result, depending on the style and subject matter I've chosen.

Artistically, I've enjoyed the best of both worlds, photorealism and abstract expressionism. Since my college days, I've been a devotee of Andrew Wyeth and Franz Kline. To me, these two artists represent the opposite ends of the visual arts spectrum. One achieved the pinnacle of representational art and the other is the embodiment of gestural expression in paint. This is a broad overview of my painting process over the length of my art career. I've enjoyed experimenting with these two styles all of my life and delving into variations on each. This, combined with a wide range of subject matter over the years, has been a joyful exploration of art, which continues today.” —James Gaar