Oscar LAkeman artist Statement…                                            

I was painting exclusively with an airbrush in the early 80's, and I was looking for something else to do. The airbrush is a great tool, but you never actually touch the canvas while painting....I wanted something less technical, more tactile, more directly involved with the paint and canvas.

 I didn't want to give up the airbrush, but I wanted to use paint brushes and my hands and anything else to put the paint on the canvas.....I wanted to pour it, smear it, throw it, finger paint....everything.... all in one.

 So, in one of those moments in the studio, the answer presented itself. Right in front of me was the very thing I was looking for....the mess I make every day while I paint.  The drips, and splatters, the brushes and jars, the cups....there was paint everywhere, smeared all over everything....the perfect subject!

 Over the years, the subject of these still-life paintings has stayed the same, but the way I paint them has changed over and over....keeping them fresh for me, and I hope for you as well.

- Oscar Lakeman