Featured Artist - Bob Dornberg

Vol 4 Issue 2 of Snow Monkey featured the work of Bob Dornberg. His statements appear below.

"My twin brother and I were born in Los Angeles. At age 6, in Seattle, our dad encouraged us to paint in oils, alongside him. I was inspired by Mr Rempel at Downey High School to explore juxtaposition and rhythm, encouraged by Mr Elgart and Mr Amato at UCLA to be original, try anything, and turn out lots of work. My brother and I both still paint, although we have gone through many distractions.

I have always studied the elements that make a painting great. These include the relation of objects, shapes, lines and spaces to each other, and the juxtaposition toward the surface and boundaries. They also include the relation of colors, no matter if pretty or ugly; rhythm, which is repetition of line, shape and color, and is established in the painting; and balance, which is comfort or, if uncomfortable, at least is justified so as not to seem unfinished, or a mistake. The study of these elements goes on whenever a painting is reviewed, whether by a traditional master, in a magazine, on the Web or in any continuing critical forum.

Study is the key to expansion of the elements beginning with the works of great painters, moving into one's own painting process, start to finish; continuing in the review of one's past works and those of others.

Today I paint to expand those elements which I think make a painting great. My subjects are slices from my life. I try hard to keep them subservient to the elements. It's easy to be distracted by unique subjects, but a subject is always replaced by the next one, while the elements give a universal and permanent success."

Some works on this page previously appeared in Niederngasse and Eclectica Magazine.

For more works by Dornberg see: www.dornberg-impressionism.com, Disquieting Muses, Clean Sheets.