John Baker

"Studio Sketch of Dmitri", Surrealist, Tan, Blue, Collage, Acrylic Painting

2019

John Baker’s “Old Man Listening to a Bird” is an 18 x 14 x 1 inch acrylic painting on canvas with collage. An imaginary portrait with dark tones and off whites and a saturated blue highlight, details the facial expression and inner spiritual response of an old man as he listens to a little blue bird. Trustingly close, and made still closer by the extremely low position of the man’s ear...

John Baker’s “Cramming for the Exam” is an acrylic portrait painting on canvas with collage 30 x 30 inches in dark blues and straw yellows. Although sparks of understanding flicker a...

Unique oil painting on hand made paper, to be framed with a kiaat box-frame, floated and raised to the backboard. The size of 100 x 70 cm is that of the artwork itself, excluding the...

Oil on paper About Tom Bennett: With quick brushstrokes, Tom Bennett creates representational images of human figures and animals, emphasizing movement in a manner reminiscent of Lucien Freud, Edgar Degas and the photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Elongated and blurry, the horse racing up a hill (Canter Fritz, 2002) and the sinister cat landing a leap (Chien Blanc, 1998) elicit a sense of foreboding enhanced by Bennett’s somber palette; his female figures too reflect a grim sense of humor with their distorted nude bodies. The face of Untitled Figure (1997), for example, is obscured by layers of dark paint. Classically trained as a painter, he initially worked in oil on canvas but discovered that monotype printing enabled him to “literally push the image around,” creating an essential element of motion. To overcome the limited scale of monotypes, however, he switched to painting on slick-surfaced plastic. Tom Bennett’s practice is rooted in the classical tradition where painting and drawing from life is highly regarded. Bennett’s work is heavily influenced by Francis Bacon, Frank Auberbauch and foremost his father, Harry Bennett, who was also an artist. Tom’s time living abroad in Spain and traveling through Eastern Europe and Africa provided the artistic freedom to explore many of the techniques and subject matter that continue to define his practice. Bennett was born and raised in Connecticut. His mediums include monotypes, oil on paper, canvas or styrene board. In a technique that Tom started over 4 years ago, several of his monotypes have been painted over with oil paint using a palette knife, brush, or his fingers to re-purpose the underlying image. These works are a testament to Bennett’s ability to quickly and concisely compose an image with expressive brush strokes, foreshortened figures and expertly rendered light. Tom’s work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions worldwide. Bennett lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He is currently represented by Tabla Rasa...