Artist of the day: Artist of the day, August 13: Jeremy Lipking, American realist painter

Monday, August 13, 2018

Artist of the day, August 13: Jeremy Lipking, American realist painter

Jeremy Lipking (1975) is an American realist painter, born in Santa Monica, California.

Lipking was inspired by the figurative tradition of nineteenth century European painters. He was educated in the California Art Institute. Lipking's works include landscapes, still lifes, and human figures.

His talent, which rivals that of the late nineteenth century painterly realists such as John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla and Anders Zorn, is outstanding for a painter of any age. Like these great painters of the past, Lipking is a virtuoso artist. His canvases convey the magical aura of convincing imagery emerging out of a field of paint.

Realism has been misunderstood through most of the twentieth century as an art of imitation. In truth, when practiced by a painter like Jeremy Lipking, realist painting is a powerful creative force. Many viewers are drawn to his art thinking that it looks just like a photograph. Actually Lipking's vision is the opposite of what a camera does. A photograph tends to flatten an image, reducing all relationships of color and shade to a stiff mechanical pattern. Lipking's skill lies in his ability to probe in and around his subject. With a highly sensitive eye, he sees nuances of value and hue that the camera and most people can never see. More incredibly, he is able to translate his highly nuanced vision into a painted image.

Lipking begins his paintings in a surprisingly loose, painterly manner-something I never would have expected. He makes initial marks to find the scale and proportions of his subject. Then he applies a broad underpainting of color to capture the desired hue and value. At this stage his paintings look almost abstract, consisting of a pattern of large color shapes.

Lipking's characteristic brushwork or gesture is what I like to call the "open touch." What I mean by this phrase is that Lipking applies paint in broad, loose facets, often leaving areas of bare canvas in between. In subsequent additions the open areas are gradually filled in, creating a breathing lattice-like structure of paint. In a curious way, the method is somewhat like Cezanne's manner. But whereas Cezanne emphasized the discontinuity of his touches, Lipking works with close values, so that the result is a seamless veil of color.

The magic occurs in the finish. As he progresses, he gradually refines each area, adjusting relationships of color and adding deft touches to define select elements. He brings certain forms to a razor sharp level of finish. Other passages are left vague and undefined. In this interplay of sharp and loose, the painting literally opens up and breathes.

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