Michael English
Like anyone who feels the urge to create, I make art because I feel compelled to do so. I love it, enjoy it, and sometimes endure it.
Long fascinated by the emotional approach to light in the paintings of Rubens, Caravaggio, and fellow Baroque masters, I have always sought to explore the dynamics of light and dark in my own paintings - particularly through depicting the human form in modern interpretations of classical themes.
Alongside this I continue to work on an ongoing series of paintings that combine traditional oil painting on canvas with a modern surround of gloss paint to create vibrant studies of the human form, specifically the lines and contours that shape the human face and body.
Through fragmentation of image the gloss surround also defines the figure, and influences its tonal and colour palettes. This duality is often taken to various degrees where form is apparent but identity is at times not always clear. I also liken this to the high-contrast ‘chiaroscuro’ and ‘tenebrous’ approach of the old masters through to classic noir cinema.
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