You may remember the name Sarkis Antikajian from an interview we did with the artist a few months ago at this blog. We're huge fans of this artists' work, and are excited that he's agreed to do some guest blogging for us here at the blog. Take it away Sarkis! While photorealism has a profound presence in representational art, is admired by the vast majority, and receives high acclaim in many juried shows, representational painting to me has its appeal only when a personal interpretation of the subject, rather than a detailed copy, is achieved. 

Personal interpretation of a subject in painting has varied connotations for artists.The artist may achieve this by using invented color harmony that is more desirable than what is in the subject, introducing elements that do not exist in the subject but retain the intrinsic color, reducing the subject to geometric patterns, or drawing inspiration from the subject while opting for a new pattern and color harmony that have little correlation to the subject.

The hardest thing to do in interpreting rather than copying is to retain the character of a subject but portray a fresh and exciting personal expression. It is my choice of representational painting. It invites a certain exaggeration in color and form and retains that which defines the character of the subject.This is not easy to accomplish for any of us, beginners as well as the advanced, and it's not always achievable for we are attuned to the obvious and have difficulty veering from what we see that we are accustomed to and comfortable with.

Alla Prima (meaning the completion of the painting in one session) is my favorite procedure and oil invariably is the medium of choice. In this method, when successful, the artist can come out with a fresh looking painting, vibrant nuance in color, and one that possesses a certain painterly quality unique to the oil medium. Alla Prima painting requires a keen focus and a decisive application of paint with every brush stroke. Short of that, the painting may lose its luster and one may quickly end up with a tired-looking grayed painting.

To learn more about Sarkis Antikajian or to subscribe to his fantastic newsletter, visit his website.