Allen Monsarrat: I’ve been painting
May 5-26, 2023
Allen Monsarrat: I’ve been painting
Opening reception: Friday, May 5, 5:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Friday, May 12, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM, and Saturdays (May 6 & 13 only) 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
I am more than a decade into developing my representational painting skills. I have honed my methodology for how I develop a painting by breaking it into manageable steps: first, I choose a subject with personal meaning based on my travels or a subject close to home in East Tennessee. The image must be a strong composition and contain a range of tonal values from darks to lights, which I manage by completing an underpainting using only burnt sienna. I then concentrate on colors and brush application, determining whether to make brush strokes apparent. By slowly edging away from my original tendency toward photorealism, some of my new works have a more painterly feel while still retaining detail as a photograph would.
Creating a painting is always an exciting journey, as I am never quite sure whether it will be as successful as I have envisioned it in my mind.
In college, Allen Monsarrat first studied architecture and then graduated with a BFA concentrating in pottery. His first art career was as a studio potter in Friendsville, TN for 25 years, followed by a career in decorative wall finishes, faux painting, cabinetry finishing and the occasional mural project. He began working in pastels in 2018 to counter his tendency towards too much realism.