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"Through the use of color I am able to share not only how I see the landscape with my eyes, but how I see the landscape with my heart as well."
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Artistic Influences - Victor Kirton
Many great artists have influenced my work; especially my use of light, color, and luminosity. Light, with its wonderful qualities, is the focal point of my paintings. My use of light was most influenced by Claude Lorrain, who was at the forefront of what would become the luminous movement. By using a technique of light tones to dark tones he created a wonderful sense of illumination, with light as the focal point.
In addition to light, another important component of my paintings is color. The artist who has most inspired my use of color is Maxfield Parrish, an American painter/illustrator who was largely responsible for shaping the golden age of illustration. He was able to achieve vivid shades and luminous color, by placing several coats of oil and varnish on his paintings in a special technique. Color can be one of the most expressive tools in all of art. I prefer to push and pull color to bring out an emotion rather than depicting an exact representation. Through the use of color, I am able to share how I see each landscape with my heart.
Another master of color who has influenced my work is JMW Turner. Turner used a technique that entailed mixing pure brilliant hues with gray hues. This technique makes the brilliant hues seem iridescent. This contrast of brilliant colors with gray colors is one of the most dynamic in all of art. I rely on this technique to make colors shift beautifully when placed under different light. This keeps a painting from becoming static and allows it a greater expressive range.
I hearken to the painters of the Hudson River School for my style. These artists created Edenist landscapes to convey a story or message. Following the Hudson River School tradition, I also try to draw hearts and minds to the divine through nature. I can sense the majesty of creation through nature. Nature and beauty are the manifestation of divine intelligence. When we partake of nature, we partake of the divine. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "beauty in nature is not ultimate. It is the herald of inward and eternal beauty." There are also many of life's lessons that we can learn through the symbolism in nature. Light and darkness tell us that we live in a world of opposites. The beauty of the sunrise depicts the beauty of entering into this mortal sojourn and the sunset depicts the departure of this mortal sojourn. We see progression in nature and we see that in ourselves as well. The divine influence in nature has the ability to bring us to loftier things, nobler things. The philosophy that art and beauty should spring from a divine source, rather than self-expression is a philosophy that I share with the artists of the Hudson River School.
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