My faith is an important factor in my art making. I believe the ability to create is endowed by an original Creator. My work continues this initial creative legacy while confronting viewers with a storyline of beauty, truth, justice, and redemption. I am a realist oil painter devoted to portraiture and figurative work. Human form, gesture, and facial expression provide inexhaustible subject matter. I depict narratives from antiquity to the present day. Some of my paintings contain spiritual elements based on biblical writings presented in a contemporary context. I work from photos that I take of family, friends, and strangers from all walks of life. I often digitally reorganize the imagery to create the most effective composition in telling a story. Extreme contrast of light and dark is a crucial component of my current work. With it, I explore the dichotomy of revelation versus concealment. I also create pottery intentionally rooted in utilitarian traditions. I work with wheel- thrown and hand-built stoneware and I decorate it with a basic glaze palette. I appreciate how handmade ceramics add an organic, creative touch to everyday objects, as opposed to the inorganic and impersonal nature of mass produced ware. Furthermore, each unique vessel is a manifestation of the endowed gift of creativity interconnecting Creator, artist, and consumer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:vcu.edu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-3662 |
| Date | 31 March 2012 |
| Creators | Irwin, Brandon |
| Publisher | VCU Scholars Compass |
| Source Sets | Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | © The Author |
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