PAINTING OF THE MONTH

Sledding

Oil on Linen
Image 8 x 10 - Framed 15 x 17
$750

As I stepped out of the 86th St subway station and started walking to the Metropolitan Museum snowflakes began to fall. They were large and they came fast and furious. Everyone put their heads down and charged forward, but I couldn't resist looking up catching a few flakes on my tongue. When I got to the museum I stood on the steps and looked up and down 5th Ave. The scene could not have been more glorious, the falling snow softened the harsh edges of the buildings and the traffic seemed to move in slow motion. It was a classic New York moment. After I left the museum I decided to walk through Central Park to the League. It was alive with children playing in the snow and muted laughter. I stopped to watch some teenagers sledding down a hill. No longer children but not yet adults they were savoring a last moment of youthful innocence. I watched them slide and tumble, trudge up the hill and follow their well worn path down again. It too was a classic New York moment. When I got back to my studio I did a small oil study of the sledders from memory, a souvenir of a perfect winter day.....

The Painting of the Month is a special offer to my blog readers (click on the image for a larger view). This month Sledding, which retails for $1600, is being made available for $750 (includes shipping, VT residents add 6% sales tax). To purchase this piece contact me at thomastorak@gmail.com. Payment is by check only please, no credit cards. If you prefer you may make 3 monthly payments. This offer is available for 30 days from the date of this post.

The Red Bowl

24 x 36 Oil on Linen

Most artists use light and color and design to express what they want to say about the objects in their paintings, I do just the opposite in my work. I use subject matter, apples, flowers, trees, mountains, portraits and nudes to explore the possibilities of light and space and poetry. Most artists begin their paintings by drawing the subject on the canvas, then lighting it and finally giving it space and dimension. I start my paintings by envisioning the space in the painting, then letting light enter that space and fall on the subject, and finally bring that subject to the canvas. Most artists construct the subject on the canvas, building to the completion of the painting. I prefer to let my subject emerge from the canvas until it is fully formed. Most artists refine the details in the final phase of painting, I subdue the details so that they do not destroy the unity of my painting. I am the opposite of every artist you’ve ever known.....