James Hartman

Flowers Against the Night, Oil Painting

2022

Artist Comments
Artist James Hartman paints an expressionist still life of vibrant blooming tulips arranged in a teal and purple vase. James shows his love for street art influenced by a visit to a show of Basquiat and Keith Haring at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Inspired by the spring season, James chooses an energetic palette in rich layers creating a unique visual play of drippings and texture. "I wanted to preserve the soul of the painting by showing the different stages of development. I enjoy referencing age-old traditions in art history."

About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six, a group of artists who painted en plein air (outdoors) and exhibited together in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 20th Century. James's paintings of the Northern California landscape pay tribute to some of the great Bay Area artists of the past. His expressive scenes feel alive through his vibrant use of color and his painterly brushwork. James’s paintings have an immediate visual impact from a distance, yet up close, dissolve into a series of confident marks and strokes. There is a simultaneous complexity and steadiness in his flattened, color-blocked planes. Knowledge and observation are essential elements of James’s working practice. To this end, he spends a large proportion of his time painting on location. His body of work captures the fresh and sunlit essence of the coastal California hills.

Words that describe this painting: flowers, still life, expressionism, painterly, table, tulips, large, vase, floral, expressionism, still life, oil painting, blue

Flowers Against the Night
James Hartman
Oil painting on stretched canvas
Finished black edges
Ready to hang
One-of-a-kind
Signed on back
2022
48 in. h x 48 in. w x 1.5 in. d
8 lbs. 8 oz.