Noted regional artist Joseph Gyurcsak will be lead a “Learn to Paint Nocturnes Successfully” a three-night workshop at the Trenton City Museum, April 27 through 29, as part of the closing events related to the exhibition “Painting the Moon and Beyond.”
The exhibition focuses on contemporary New Jersey-based American artist Lois Dodd and her circle of artists/friends who found inspiration in painting at night.
Based in Hamilton, Gyurcsak is known for both his work and for teaching.
In an interview conducted by CNS writer Tom Kelly, Gyurcsak says the following about his approach and work:
I am capturing the natural or artificial light on my subjects, presenting them in an abstract realism form.
My focus is spontaneity and fluidness. The media doesn’t matter. I use oil, acrylic, and watercolor. I treat them the same. It’s how I choose to bend the mediums, so that the surface is unique, irregular, and suggestive in an organic way.
I usually have a title to the painting early on, this keeps my focus, capturing the essence of the subject and its immediate feel. I often skip the drawing and go right to painting. If the connection is strong, I want my energy to spill right into the painting with pure gut reaction. Working immediately from life keeps the color lively and free flowing. If this energy is lost then the painting will suffer.
The work that I do outside in plein air is most gratifying to me. I also do small studies outside, and then I may do a larger painting in the studio over a longer span of time.
I paint many areas throughout New Jersey; old farms, junkyards, things in decay. I like the challenge of painting chaos. Busy designs interest me more than the perfect landscape.
I teach in my studio in Hamilton and have done so for 29 years. I hold workshops throughout the U.S. and have demonstrated painting at more than 160 leading universities, colleges and art schools.
I am the resident artist for Blick Art Materials and the brand manager for Utrecht Artists Colors. This lets me really study painting, art material R&D, and travel.
I now have a depth of knowledge artistically, that I can be a judge of art events and a speaker at recognized organizations such as The Salmagundi Club, Oil Painters of America, and The American Impressionist Society.
Learn to Paint Nocturnes Successfully, Trenton City Museum, Cadwalader Park, Trenton. Wednesday through Friday, April 27 through 29. Limited participation. $350. 609-989-1191 or www.ellarslie.org.
For more on the artist, visit www.josephgyurcsak.com.
