An Afternoon with John Van Dreal

Salem Art Association

Learn more about John's artistic process during an artist talk and Q&A session, along with a tour of his studio and extensive art collection

595 Leslie St SE

These event will highlight:
•	A studio visit and an early viewing of more than 40 new works by John (which will be on exhibit in January and February 2024 in the A.N. Bush Gallery) and an artist talk and Q&amp;A about the combined aesthetic philosophy, creative process, and discipline that fuel the production of John’s work.
•	A guided tour of John and Coleen’s historic home and its collection of more than 200 works of art by John and other notable American artists.
•	Northwest wines and appetizers.
Artist’s Statement
My artistic style and method, as well as my philosophy about art, are founded in my admiration for Northern European realism, American realism, and Tonalism. As a craftsman, I build surface and texture through layered oil painting combined with thin applications of translucent glazing. I have found that such an approach allows me to capture light as well as render form that has an intrinsic identity and offers the viewer a subtle expression of beauty as it is found in landscape, still life, and figure. I study and report form by concurrently sketching and painting as I move a work forward to completion. Using this method, combined with traditional aesthetic principles, allows me to create contemporary images that are luminous, tonal, evocative, and spiritual and that connect with the viewer on a personal level. By indulging in form and the aesthetic, I attempt to paint the denominators most common to human beings in their search for the beautiful and sublime. Thus I hope my art offers a connection to good things.

An Afternoon with John Van Dreal

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An Afternoon with John Van Dreal

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