Misha McGlown
web: www.omomishagallery.com

I have been creating art, painting, for as long as I can remember. In high school I began serious fine-art painting, developing my skills in both acrylics and oils. Throughout college and early adulthood I continued to create real life paintings in oils. I called the paintings Travels, and they were largely inspired by stories I read in vintage National Geographic magazines. I found myself particularly drawn to children and the elderly - people I didn’t ordinarily see everyday, doing things I didn’t ordinarily see everyday. There was a sense that I had traveled, or diminished a gap in the universe, as I immersed myself in the creation of one of these stories….unfolding, I would imagine, somewhere on the other side of the planet.

In the early ‘90’s I would begin jewelry-making; first crafting accessories from clay, then gradually incorporating other materials – wire, semi-precious stones, antique finds and trinkets, etc. Fashioning jewelry for editorials, advertisements, museums, specialty shops and celebrities, the hobby would quickly become a profession. The jewelry line would become the life-line of my existence; its creation so all-consuming that I would forget about painting altogether….

At the beginning of 2006, I suffered a theft which resulted in the loss of all of my jewelry supplies. Every bead, jewel, gemstone, trinket, charm, and tool was gone in a flash, vanished, as if it had never existed. After a fifteen-year hiatus from painting, it took a crisis such as this foe me to give myself permission again to paint; to continue the work I had forgotten from so long ago.

The first series of acrylic paintings I produced has been characterized by broad, fluid brush strokes, hues inspired by the various complexions of nature, and also informed, somewhat, by my professional interests in traditional Chinese painting. The first of this series was entitled Nesting, followed by Children of the Heavens (detail left) – where I began to explore the inclusion of Adinkara symbols into the Asian-inspired composition.

Next, I was compelled to explore vibrant and playful color. I wanted to establish an array of personalities, all possessing a thematic exaggerated form. The figures were inspired foremost by African sculpture – as such created by the Fang people of Gabon (right) – and, perhaps, to a lesser degree motivated by the works of Amadeo Modigliani, an artist whose articulation I have always admired. I would also use this series as an opportunity to employ textile patterns and designs I have developed and courted over the years.

Having regained some measure of comfort with painting, Duke ’84 (detail left) was an attempt to revert to my former real-life work. While I do not consider the endeavor at all unsuccessful, I found creating life-like images a great deal more challenging when working in the acrylic medium. Oil paints, I believe, allow for a broader and more consistent range of color and seamless rendering. I found that it was necessary to apply generous brushstrokes to accommodate for the fast-drying medium. This would result in a slightly more stylized composition than I originally envisioned. As is the beauty of all art and life in general, it is important to understand that we may not always end up at the place we originally intended to go.

I have continued to create in all three styles of painting and find myself moving towards a more politically-minded collection of work. The work I am currently developing commemorates the life of Fidel Castro, in an effort to offer an objective study of his leadership, as well as the largely misrepresented U.S./Cuban relationship. In addition, the Travels study, which celebrates indigenous life the world throughout, has always been close to my heart and will be a continuing compilation throughout my career.

© Misha McGlown