Jason de Graaf
Born and raised in Montreal. Currently living and painting near Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Canada.
JdG: My paintings are about creating verisimilitude on the painted surface, Subjects are filtered through my personal response to them. While I do tend to paint in a photo realistic manner, my goal is not to reproduce or document faithfully what I see one hundred percent, but also to create the illusion of depth and a sense of presence not found in photographs. I use colours and composition intuitively with the intent of imbuing my paintings with emotion, mood and mystery. Throughout, I try to remain open to new ideas and surprises as the painting unfolds.
"De Graaf painstakingly details the contrasting texture and unwieldy surfaces of his distinctly arranged still lifes. But his works are not just demonstrations of photorealistic talent. The deceptive reflections focus on a realm of reality that exists outside of the painting's frame. He stretches depth and skews perspective ever so slightly, infusing the painting with a spectre of mystery that pushes the viewer to search for an ever-escaping point of equilibrium" - Katherine Brooks, "Huffington Post" 2012
p/s Again, NO, they are not photos but acrylic paintings on canvas ...
4 comments:
What's the point of such painting?
Amazing painting skill yes but sorely lacking in imagination.
Newbie,
Yes, if he just reproduces exactly, there is no point. If you look at the paintings carefully, its more realistic than photos ... you can see that he does not just capture the textures, reflections, shadows ... he creates depth ... he makes the real even more visible, there is a sense of clarity and stillness that forces you to marvel at every single element in that painting, something a mere photo won't be able to do. He can capture reality and add to reality, if thats possible, photo realistic is not enough to be a super talent.
Why take such trouble when you can just snap a photo?
Such painting is doubt a waste of time.
I like it a lot. Even if he just reproduces exactly as photos (which he is NOT), art is something which showcases human talent and every piece of art reminds us how diverse and beautiful this world is.
Art cannot be valued based on economic valies or efficiency alone. If it is based on that alone, the world will be quite boring. And I am a professional engineer by training and I appreciate the efficiency of industrialization, machines, etc. but I would prefer to surround myself with work of art to appreciate human talent.
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