The Art of Russell Pierce

I was initially attracted to Hockney’s work for it’s somewhat flat, almost graphic application of paint. Paintings like The Splash showing a California home and a swimming pool with a frozen splash as if it was just snapped by a camera was one of my favorites. I started to research his earlier work and it was clear that Hockney was ever-changing, not content to explore the same subject or style over and over. His portraits of people had a unique quality. They captured his subjects sometimes in their natural settings or with their significant others but it was the way he painted them that felt new, the colors and the lighting gave his work a unique look. For awhile he explored photography as an end medium making large collages from Polaroids that made you understand the scene in new and different ways. And there’s no sign of slowing down, at 79 he’s still creating large works, lately bright and colorful landscapes that draw the viewer into an almost magical land.