Cheryl Petty

(American)
Using the mind resembles using a camera.  If one can achieve absolute oneness with what appears as the multifomity of the world, one can unify the fragments of one's mind and focus one's mental camera instantly to receive a clear and accurate picture of reality.
With the invention of the camera in 1830's artists were forced to evolve or become redundant in the face of new technology.  What had previously been considered the finest achievement, the hyper-realism of the academies, was now superfluous with the arrival of the photograph.  Artists were propelled towards capturing that which could not be produced by the mechanical camera.  French Impressionism erupted onto the art scene in the latter part of the 19th century.
Perhaps the most influential artist of our era, Vincent Van Gogh was a prolific volcano, producing hundreds of drawings and paintings in the short period of his painting career from 1881-1890.  More than almost any other artist, Van Gogh struggled and succeeded in painting what he saw and felt.  Hugely admired by his contemporaries in the movement, his drawings and paintings reveal keen observation and draftsman's skill.  His approach to color, light and even the application of pigment to canvas was liberating and operated on the cutting edge of color optics science at that time.
The influence of Van Gogh on my art is easy to detect.  I would like to think that I am exploiting avenues of observation and development that were opened by him.  Why accept the mere translation of color, light and shadow that modern digital cameras offer?  Why let a camera decide what color the sky is?  Or what sunlight glinting through tree leaves looks like?  The human eye is capable of much more.  I try to translate that information into a composition that energizes and evokes memory and emotion from nature.  This process unifies the overwhelming amount of information about a scene and focuses the mind to capture in the moment of the painting a clear and accurate picture of reality.

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