Shannon Amidon

A Curious Place, Abstract Painting

2020

Artist Comments
Artist James Hartman draws inspiration from the experience of seeing sunlit colors and details appearing through the strong vertical tree pattern. He expresses the painting sections to appear like stained glass. James highlights small areas where collaged 100-year-old paper show through the surface, he does this in a non-disruptive way. James applies heat to fuse the oils into a mixture of beeswax and damar crystals to seal the work.

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: expressionism, encaustic, beeswax, collage, antique ephemera...

Artist Comments
My intention here is to get the viewer to feel as if they were on a mountain in Northern California. I covered my wood panel with glue and paper as a mordant for the beeswax / damar crystal coating. I use oils and pigments for color and a propane torch to get the medium molten.

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.

Cows on Mount Diablo...

Artist Comments
A warm and vibrant display of orange and yellow flowers in vases, with fruits, cutlery, and wine by artist James Hartman. A painting hangs against the red wall while a view of another room peeks from the left. Part of James' series of interiors using collage, beeswax, and oil paints. "My process is by experiment since the ancient art of encaustics was once lost," shares James. He fuses the pigment into beeswax giving them permanence, preserving the vibrant colors. "I like to begin the process by collaging antique...

Artist Comments
A vibrant encaustic on wood painted with oil over a collage of antique ephemera. Artist James Hartman portrays a colorful still ...

Artist Comments
Fiery trees tower over a path that opens up to a sparkling hidden beach. Artist James Hartman rendered this piece by first creating his own cradled panel. He ...

Artist Comments
A diverse encaustic painting by artist James Hartman where he simultaneously portrays a vibrant still life and a brilliant seascape. James paints on a base of collage on a cradled panel which is then coated in molten beeswax. After which James fuses the materials using controlled heat. "I enjoy the way the heat can be used to edit the painting."

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: table, still life, encaustic, beeswax, wine, flowers, bay, lemons, vase, water, oranges, mixed media, expressive, food, impressionism, still life, encaustic artwork

Bay Window...