Artist Index - Artists Detail

Bart McCoy

I decided a long time ago to paint the way I paint because I have a great amount of admiration for the masters of late and post renaissance northern Europe. I’m challenging myself technically but also connecting my art to this rich history of master painters. I want to always have an allusion to this history in my work through technique, regardless of my subject or the content of the painting. My desire is to convey my awe in the universe and humanity as well as the laws that govern them through a humanistic, naturalistic, and scientific perspective.  My ultimate goal is to successfully convey these contemporary ideas using traditional methods.

 

There is a great deal of preparation and research that precede each painting.  Paintings begin with thumbnail sketches, color studies, and scale drawings.  These are changed and tempered with exhaustive research in often obscure subjects.  When I proceed to paint I use an under painting method called “bistre and grisaille”.  This technique was in wide practice among the 16^th and 17^th century Dutch/ Flemish masters and was the method used by Rembrandt Van Rijn.  This process along with over glazing allows for intense and glowing luminosity, depth and a strong sense of form. I studied very hard in two small master ateliers in Minnesota, but it really took a lot of independent work and perseverance and I believe it will require a lot more.

 

Currently my work is allegorical with an emphasis in portraiture and still life. I’m equally inspired by Rembrandt and Ribera as I am by Carl Sagan and Richard Dawkins. Through allegory I’m expressing my awe of life and the universe, the very complex to the very simple in a beautiful, real, and substantial way. With portraiture I’m focusing on humanity, the way we experience nature, and the reality of those experiences. I believe that art should be something that transcends the everyday experience but also addresses it.