Artist's Statement

Camille Pissarro once said "“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” I consider myself "blessed." I live in the Flint Hills of Kansas, a startling beautiful part of the world. It is not a grand beauty, but a small one. To appreciate it you must live in the land and hear it whisper. My landscapes are an attempt to share those many brief and intimate experiences that I have of the Flint Hills and places where I travel.

My portraits are also intimate intrusions, but this time into a private self.  I construct the portrait inspired by who the sitters are in real life and a specific idea in my mind about how I want them to appear for the viewer. The resulting portraits are an attempt to find the right balance between reality and fiction, between the sitters' view of themselves and my view of them.

A successful painting, whether portrait or landscape, should be intriguing for the viewer. It is an encounter between the artist, the subject, and the viewer. Essentially a successful painting should compel us to stare.

More information is available at CliveFullagar.com.