Painting the figure, has always been my ‘force et ma gloire,” and continues to compel me. With a portion of the studio set up photography-like for the models, including backdrops, furniture, props and lighting, I paint figures from life.
I work best when I zoom in on a portion of the figure, and allow my large, gestural, brushstrokes of exaggerated color to fill the canvas. These unabashedly wild, intuitive, painterly slathers which begin as descriptions of the subject ultimately become the subject themselves.
My research for the figural paintings consist of seeking formats to set off this brushwork frenzy. Washy under paintings are stenciled, outlined, or overpainted opaquely. Canvases are custom stretched for compositional concerns. Diptychs, triptychs and more offer visual and literal breaks in the composition.
Mixed-media, non-objective abstract expressionist painting has been engaging me lately.
J. Marcil Eck 