Brian Grison

Home: Victoria BC
Title: Self-Portrait
Media: Graphite, gouache and ink and collage on paper
Dimensions: 45 x 35 cm

Artist Statement

As a painter, I am trying to understand the physical form of the body and face, the form of the space surrounding the sitter and the multiple psychological or emotional forms that have constructed the sitters personality.

While painting I see a complex arrangement of colors, shapes, patterns and lines which express the person’s identity. Colors are the foundation of my paintings. The shapes often do not touch one another creating a dynamic sense of movement. My portraits are based on answering the questions: What are we hiding? What is beneath the surface of the self that we will not reveal? What is the nature and substance of our hidden self?

Biography

I painted my first portrait at the age of fifteen, followed by years of emotional “Van Gogh” style portraits. Later I became a high realist. In the late seventies I explored all types of art, such as conceptual jewelry, soft plywood furniture, grand landscapes, black and white still Life paintings, abstract painting, sculpture and finally back to the portrait. Today, in my new portrait paintings I am exploring the concrete and abstract interconnections between logic, creativity and imagination within self.