Dennis Angel – Realism Art Exhibition

2014 Realism Art Exhibition – MyArtContest.com

Dennis Angel – Las Vegas, NV

For the past thirty years, my desire to draw has been motivated by my interest in observation and underscored by my respect for the history of the graphic arts. Because of the patience and time required to complete detailed, perceptual drawings, the still life genre is the ideal vehicle for the undertaking of uninterrupted, optical investigations. By carefully arranging and lighting objects on a tabletop surface, I am able to analyze, record and manipulate subtle transitions in shape, tone and edge in service of a heightened reality, a personal theater of sorts.

When developing imagery in black and white I have chosen metal point, a painstakingly unforgiving antique process, commonly used by artists in the 13^th and 14^th centuries.  When properly layered, this process possesses a luminosity and delicate tonal range otherwise unattainable with any other graphic medium.  Additionally, the use of metal point further divorces the object from its usual function, in a sense elevating it, while providing an intriguing contrast between the present and the past. By employing copper, silver, gold and platinum, different patinas are achieved over time as the metals slowly oxidize in reaction to the air around them, promoting subtle change long after the actual drawing is completed.

Wishing to expand my work into color I have recently begun working with colored pencil.  The choice of objects in these pieces is more directly related to art history and the expansion of a personal narrative.   Using very hard colored pencils I am able to work with the same control and precision that I enjoy with metal point. However, with this medium I am able to layer color extensively, giving the drawings a rich luminosity and depth similar to  the visual affects found in glazed oil paintings.

Ultimately, I wish for my drawings to serve as quiet, tender and thoughtful records of acute optical experiences, embracing craftsmanship and formalism as fundamental criteria upon which standards of beauty can be evaluated and maintained.