joan kresek
My artworks portray a particular moment in time in order to preserve the mood, character and details of our daily lives and the natural inhabitants of our world. For instance, one recent project recreated a working archeological bone bed site, complete with work-worn tools, showcasing not only the buffalo bones, but also the effort of the archeologists to unearth and preserve them. My series of shrine paintings - artworks composed as an altar or monument, positions everyday subjects in an isolated place of honor. Occasionally, the pairing of the settings and subjects take into consideration several viewpoints, challenging the boundaries of reality, as in “Survivor”, my painting of a big horn sheep positioned in a trompe’ loeil niche that has been lined with a bas relief of a city skyline.
The projects begin with a script and my illustration process starts by interpreting the text into sketches that explore design possibilities, gathering real and photographic research, and experimenting with media. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional works are rendered realistically; the spatial volume of the subjects is accentuated with light, shadow and color and atmospheric perspective is employed to increase the impression of depth.
I use a variety of materials: three-dimensional shapes are represented on a two-dimensional surface with acrylic paint and three-dimensional sculptures, models and life-size dioramas are constructed with everything from foam to paper mache to wood.
My work addresses a universal longing that society has to make a connection with the objects in the world around us; it also responds to a need that I have to present our everyday world and the inhabitants and objects in it in a place of reverence, contributing to the appreciation of if in the community. My love of art and nature, combined with a multitude of techniques, focuses my creative energies as a realist painter and dioramist.
BIOGRAPHY
When I was three years old, my artistry instinctively presented itself as I designed elaborate mud pies: multiple levels decorated with radiant blades of grass, emanating from "spiral jetties" of raised pebbles. I continued to express myself with pencil and crayon drawing, watercolor painting and 3D models in elementary school, crafts from the Girl Scouts and invitation-only art classes at the Carnegie Museum. Frequent visits to the Carnegie Museums of Art and of Natural History in my hometown of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) nurtured my love of art and nature, interests that today, coupled with the variety of techniques she gathered, focus my creative energies as a dioramist and realist painter.
I attended Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida, as an Illustration major and experienced graphic design as a school magazine staff volunteer. Employment as a publication designer followed, while in my small apartment studio my created three-dimensional work: Lucas Samaras-like chairs that included fantasy stone textures layered with found objects. These processes lead to producing custom decorative work which she problem-solved utilizing a variety of styles, techniques and medias to interpret the ideas of interior designers and space planners. A move across country to Colorado and starting a family slowed my commission work but generated more of a studio presence, exploring the boundaries of reality in still life paintings, inspired by a combination of Salvador Dali and Walter Murche.
Whether it is on a two-dimensional surface or a tangible form, the constant goal in my work is the representation of a three-dimensional appearance, created with shapes, light and shadow and textures.
The projects begin with a script and my illustration process starts by interpreting the text into sketches that explore design possibilities, gathering real and photographic research, and experimenting with media. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional works are rendered realistically; the spatial volume of the subjects is accentuated with light, shadow and color and atmospheric perspective is employed to increase the impression of depth.
I use a variety of materials: three-dimensional shapes are represented on a two-dimensional surface with acrylic paint and three-dimensional sculptures, models and life-size dioramas are constructed with everything from foam to paper mache to wood.
My work addresses a universal longing that society has to make a connection with the objects in the world around us; it also responds to a need that I have to present our everyday world and the inhabitants and objects in it in a place of reverence, contributing to the appreciation of if in the community. My love of art and nature, combined with a multitude of techniques, focuses my creative energies as a realist painter and dioramist.
BIOGRAPHY
When I was three years old, my artistry instinctively presented itself as I designed elaborate mud pies: multiple levels decorated with radiant blades of grass, emanating from "spiral jetties" of raised pebbles. I continued to express myself with pencil and crayon drawing, watercolor painting and 3D models in elementary school, crafts from the Girl Scouts and invitation-only art classes at the Carnegie Museum. Frequent visits to the Carnegie Museums of Art and of Natural History in my hometown of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) nurtured my love of art and nature, interests that today, coupled with the variety of techniques she gathered, focus my creative energies as a dioramist and realist painter.
I attended Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida, as an Illustration major and experienced graphic design as a school magazine staff volunteer. Employment as a publication designer followed, while in my small apartment studio my created three-dimensional work: Lucas Samaras-like chairs that included fantasy stone textures layered with found objects. These processes lead to producing custom decorative work which she problem-solved utilizing a variety of styles, techniques and medias to interpret the ideas of interior designers and space planners. A move across country to Colorado and starting a family slowed my commission work but generated more of a studio presence, exploring the boundaries of reality in still life paintings, inspired by a combination of Salvador Dali and Walter Murche.
Whether it is on a two-dimensional surface or a tangible form, the constant goal in my work is the representation of a three-dimensional appearance, created with shapes, light and shadow and textures.
Joan Kresek ~ joankresek@gmail.com