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“All You Can Be” Oil on Linen. 46 x 36 inches. Paul Chizik.

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Please check back for dates and locations of our next workshop in Italy.

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(Photosynthesis (from the Greek [photo-], “light,” and [synthesis], “putting together”, “composition” Photosynthesis is vital for life on Earth. As well as maintaining the normal level of oxygen in the atmosphere, nearly all life either depends on it directly as a source of energy, or indirectly as the ultimate source of the energy in their food.)

Photosynthesis is a decorative landscape , rendered almost in the manner of a mosaic tapestry of patterns covering the canvass with a luxurious and colorful vitality heightened by an abstract interpretation of natural shapes. It is a complex spatial structure. This painting is less naturalistic than many of my other paintings. I have used a new formula for the tropical landscape series by favouring a flattening and a geometricization of forms. It holds many painterly challenges for the artist with a subtle play of textures and alternating tonalities. The expressive use of colors is of utmost importance. Using a too strong color palette in this painting could lessen the emotional impact of the lush but quiet and gentle meditative space. Photosynthesis represents to the human psyche a place of health, rest and rejuvenation on many levels and I hope to be able to add to this through a direct interactions and painterly accuracy. I do not wish to simply reproduce the landscape but hope to capture the eternal essence of the tropics and to rediscover the nature of its universal form and appeal.

This large scale tropical landscape is the second in the ongoing theme and exploration of the modern painter’s attempt to paint tropical landscapes in such a way never done before. Drawing inspiration and making historical connections from many painters of the past such as John Singer Sargent’s watercolors of Florida, Paul Gauguin’s Tahiti paintings, Henri Rousseau’s landscapes.

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A Little piece of Africa

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Temperature oil on linen 25 x 29.5

It is almost summer and a great time for visiting your local market to get some interesting fruit and vegetables to paint. It is always advisable to use a Alla Prima technique when painting objects such a fruit, veggies and flowers, as their life-span is short. Depending on the technique and mediums used, sometimes you have to learn to improvise when painting a still-life.

While painting “Temperature” I decided in advance to build up the surface quality of the fruit over a period of time to achieve the waxy and fleshy texture of the mangoes. I used stand oil to get the viscosity of the paint just right. Stand oil takes longer to dry than linseed oil, but gives a wonderful glass like sheen to the paint while adding to a thicker look. Using a bit of cold wax medium in selective areas added to the difference of surface from mat to sheen, which on close inspection these mangoes have.

The tablecloth was painted in a radically different way, more impressionistic, dry and dense. This added to the optical illusion of the sheen on the mangoes and wooden plate. When replacing objects because they change color and start to decay, try not to “chase” the shape. Keep the initial shape and only adjust the color, tones and surface appearance.

The people at the market must have thought that I was nuts and really hungry because I had to look at each mango carefully to try and get a similar replacement every other day but I sure had some great mango smoothies while painting this still life.

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Jack Shadbolt Litho

Jack Shadbolt Litho

Jack Shadbolt Litho

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The Tropics Progress Movie

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Oil on Linen. 65 inches x 82 inches

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