Artist Spotlight: Joe Gyurcsak

Sunlit Still Life, 12" x 12", acrylic on panel

“My paintings express a sense of light, atmosphere and mood; they transcend the techniques that were employed to create them, and breathe the very light and atmosphere they were painted in. I like to capture the fleeting moments of life; the sublime manifestations of light and color, their aesthetic influences on the subject.” ~Joe Gyurcsak

Vizcaya, 11" x 14", acrylic on panel

New Jersey artist, Joe Gyurcsak is an active plein air and studio artist with gallery representation, ongoing demonstrations and workshops around the country and a full time job as the Resident artist, Brand manager, Art Education and Technical Director for Utrecht Art Supplies.  His work is all art all the time, so Joe knows art materials well, and it has paid off in his own painting career.

A few years back Joe switched from working in oils to acrylics, finding the medium more suitable for his evolving style-- laying the paint on quickly and somewhat sporadically.  Even in the plein air work Joe does, the fast drying time of acrylic paints don't impede Joe; if anything, they encourage him to make the strokes he intends and move quickly.  In painting with acrylics, Joe advises artists to use stiff synthetic brushes as they move paint well.  For most of his work, Joe uses flats and filberts in rather large sizes because they offer broad open strokes.  As he layers the paint refining the passages, he allows each layer to hold some of its own color and substance to show through. 

Across the Stream, 12" x 12", acrylic on panel

Recently, Joe tested some Dynasty wave brushes and found that they were perfect for his technique, giving him the ability to lay down different amounts of paint in the same stroke.  "They are great for uneven distribution of paint and unique application of paint because of the way they are cut.  [Ideal] for using with acrylic and landscape painting for varied texture," he explains.  With acrylics an artist doesn't have time to mix the paint with a palette knife creating the exact hues.  "Mixing is best," Joe says, "when it is done with the brushes themselves during the painting, which then also gives the work a liveliness of color and irregular brushstroke." 

Joe will be doing demonstrations and workshops around the country this year on his switch to acrylics and painting still life.  He will be at the Bethlehem Palette Club on May 4th doing a workshop on still life painting. 

Wading, 14" x 18", acrylic on panel

For a better understanding of plein air work and walk through an online demo with Joe, tune in to Utrecht's own website:  Painting a Plein Air Still Life.

To see more of Joe's work in person, visit one of his two galleris, The William Ris Gallery in Stone Harbor, New Jersey or the Eisele Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Keep Painting, 
Karyn 

For more brush information, check out the Dynasty Brush website.