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Salcedo Auctions

Art Fair 2021

I work mostly in charcoal and oil. This collection is comprised of anatomical studies from the Academy and a floral painting inspired by the music of Antonio Vivaldi. I like to think of these pieces as visual manuscripts of what I learned in the Academy and daily life. Each work bears a handprint of my time and energy; days and months of joy, relief, challenge, exasperation, patience, and satisfaction become the chapters that make the story of each picture.

There is more to art than just simply mastering the play of light and shadow or the movement of form. Harold Speed (i) writes powerfully in the Practice and Science of Drawing and compares good academic drawings to a perfectly fitted engine, “…a perfect piece of workmanship, but lifeless.ⁱ” Speed continues, “there must be enough play between the vital parts to allow of some movement; “dither” is, I believe, the (Scotch) word for it…. that elusive quality, that play on mechanical accuracy, existing in all vital art.” These words consistently guide my work in the Academy. This dither or play on mechanical accuracy means that drawing and painting exercises had the potential to convey mood or feeling, e.g., the invisible thread that connects the artist and his viewer. It is connection that delivers the art to the viewer, it is connection that sparks conversation, reflection, a sense of involvement with a work of art.

The collection offers different stories for the viewer in my quest for infusing dither to my work. I hope you enjoy the work, the stories, and reflections in them. May they spark conversation and inspiration for you.