STUDIOVISITS
DJ Berard
Q. When did you first realize you were an artist A. I still fight accepting that label. I am a painter that is trying to communicate an image, idea or feeling. Others started calling me an artist after a TV interview years ago, I thought it was very flattering
Q. Description of your art A. It would be “Impressionist Abstract Landscapes” I am working from an impressionist landscape to the abstract. In many I will leave indicators that it is still a landscape, other works only the organic shapes remain of a landscape. I still paint rich fun mid-western landscapes but am working on developing a new abstract of those images. Q. Current Medium A. I have always worked in acrylics and some watercolors. I can paint in oils and water based oils but I prefer the immediacy of acrylics. Q. A favorite subject matter? A. It has been small towns and landscapes with great shadows. I paint what is familiar. Some say I “elevate the ordinary” in painting what is around me. I need to live with my surroundings for awhile to see what is interesting, different light and different seasons change what I see. Above: D.J. Berard’s studio Left: Loveland Creek, 52” x 50” oil and collage on canvas
Q. Have you been Influenced by what artist and how? A. I have been influenced by an art history of artists. Rothko for his powerful squares, Diebenkorn for his simplified abstracts and landscapes, Rembrandt for his glazed rich colors,Monet and his layering of paint that never seems to be heavy and an artist called Trevor, from Kentucky, for his simple compositions and beautifully simple colors. Q. What inspires or motivates me? A. Light , shadows, quiet mornings with lots of clouds, other artists, empty parks, colors in unexpected places, alleys with lots of shadows; I take inspiration from where I live and the people I know. I think its the same for most artists. Q. My work has changed over time. I began as an impressionist landscape painter. Moving to southern Arizona I found that galleries wanted abstracts. So I painted those. The became linear layers of glazed color. The landscape was flat between mountains, sand, rocks and flat desert and then more tall mountains. It was easy to translate that kind of landscape into abstract. Colors were intensified into rich deep glazed layers of ochres, oranges and reds, gold and purples. I am glad to be back in the mid-west this year with a different color palette of green, blues,
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