Is This Real Life??

So if you haven't figured this out already, I love details and I am absolutely fascinated by the way different artists depict water. I also favor photo-realistic art; the more life-like, the better. That's my motto. So when those three elements come together in a piece of art, you can count on it that I will be geeking out.

Relinquishing

Eric Zener's work contains all three of these elements, therefore I'm geeking out. I don't know why I am so fascinated by depictions and illustrations of water, but I am. I love the way that water refracts and reflects light, and good artistic depictions really capture those attributes of water. I know that to achieve really photo-realistic work, one needs to pay A LOT of attention to detail. And boy does Eric Zener pay a lot of attention to detail!

How to Disappear Completely

Zener is an American artist. He does photorealist paintings. His focus is on expressing the "collective desire for transformation into something ideal." He says he strives to "create a sense of sanctuary, often using the figure in water, sleep, journeys and nature as a metaphor for renewal and reprise."

I think he definitely captures that sensation in these paintings. Not only is the water peaceful and seem to give the viewer a sense of tranquility in many of the pieces, but even in the pieces that there's more movement implied, it still feels "safe;" not threatening.

Cusp

 I also love his attention to detail for the whole composition. I guess that's what you have to do to be a truly photorealistic painter. I know I often get into the habit of paying a lot of attention to detail in one part of a painting I'm working on, but then that will usually take up so much time that I lose patience and don't go for the same amount of detail for the rest of the painting.

Safety Net

His attention to detail is definitely a challenge to me to strive for the same level of detail, as well as consistency of detail throughout the piece. And I accept, and hope to live up to the challenge in future pieces of mine.


-Maria

*Here are some links where I found these pictures and information about him. Enjoy!

www.ericzener.com/water.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Zener