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ART
Kevin Berlin, Tiger In The House, oil on canvas, 77 in. x 89 in., 2012.
A lot of your ideas, including your paintings, are related to personal experiences. Yes, a lot of my work with tigers took place in Ukraine, and I once moved to Russia to paint ballerinas. I try to use the works as a platform to bring attention to important issues, such as trying to help save tigers from extinction or how difficult life can be for a classical ballerina. Now I spend a lot of time in Florence, Italy. So naturally, I paint, and eat, a lot of Nutella. Why Florence? Florence is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. A lot of my heroes lived there: Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo. I love Renaissance art traditions and techniques. My work is all based on developing ideas through drawing.
The most basic way to express an idea still begins with a word or a brushstroke. Through drawing it is possible to develop a painting, sculpture, or performance. Whether I am painting Nutella with Jack Daniels, a nude, or sculpting a figure for bronze casting, everything starts with direct observation from life. Do you think this traditional approach still works in a modern world? In fact, more than ever. Skills like painting with a brush or sculpting in clay are becoming more and more rare. Some art lovers today are unsatisfied with this, and are returning to the Renaissance idea of appreciating and commissioning work by talented artists using quality materials.