Brian Kliewer » About the Artist

When I view a scene, I "see" more than just what lies in front of me.  I feel the presence of the past, of others that existed before me.  I wonder what these people thought as they viewed the same scene, worked the land and lived out their lives on it.  Changes in weather, light and seasons also work together to form a yearning for permanence that I have to distill on canvas. It's this evanescence that sparks my imagination before I decide to paint. These variations can create powerful juxtapositions ... old and new, light and dark, strong and fragile, life and death. Have you ever noticed an autumn leaf, perhaps ashen and withered, as it falls into the waters of a quiet stream? The cycle of life continues on its path of renewal, and this constant change forces me to seek an answer...in paint. Often the most powerful images are those that are most difficult to see, being small, fleeting or subtle. Charged with these sorts of emotions as I look at something like that leaf, I feel a need to respond. A need to put my feelings about the moment down in paint.  Many of my paintings involve memories, vivid ones that I've carried through the years. Oftentimes I can't work in the field, so I try to remember all that I can while gathering reference material.  My memory process involves noting not only the visual details but the sounds, smells, tastes and even my own thoughts at that particular moment. Back in the studio as I begin to paint, these thoughts become crystallized as I try to pull them out and put them in the painting. In my art, it's not just the beauty of the scene I'm after. It's also the emotions conjured be they, joy, wonder, even sadness ... my own state of consciousness....life itself.

"From the Stern" 30"x48" oil on canvas © 2011 Brian Kliewer

(click image to enlarge - opens a new window)

"From the Stern" took 2nd place in the June, 2011 BoldBrush Online Painting Competition.

Read about the painting's development on my blog.

"Main Street, Rockland" 20 x 24" oil on canvas © 2007 Brian Kliewer

ABOUT THE ARTIST
 
Completely self-taught in painting, Kliewer began showing his work at The Pine Tree Shop & Bayview Gallery in Camden, Maine, in the autumn of 1988.  The following year, artist Edward Hergelroth saw Kliewer's work for the first time and said, "It's hard to believe that anyone this young and with so little formal training could produce such an incredible sense of drama and atmosphere in his work." Collectors were soon taken with his paintings and the gallery dedicated an entire show to his work at its Portland, Maine location early in 1991. His show of Maine landscapes was a near sellout. In 1995 the Camden gallery offered "Brian Kliewer-A Full Perspective" to its audience and the show nearly sold out on its first weekend! Another successful show followed in 1996. In 2001, Kliewer showed in "Two Views of New England," a two-man show at Mast Cove Galleries in Kennebunkport, Maine.  In 2005 the artist was selected by curator, Margaret Bodell, to have his first show in New York City.