Randy Loubier

Amherst, NH  603-672-8062

randy@pinktomatoes.com     www.pinktomatoes.com

Artist’s Statement

For my taste, great art is like great wine—both should have a strong sense of “complex simplicity.”  There are many facets to the whole, each facet can be individually experienced, but the whole rises above the sum of the facets in a glorious, simplistic harmony that excites and calms in the same moment.  Long before I was an artist, I established the view that great work (of any kind) is truly inspired.  A moment of inspiration, a flash of genius, is a momentary open portal to the source of our soul (God, Buddha, the Great Spirit-you fill in the word).  One of life’s great joys is that those moments of connection can be preserved on canvas (on tape, on video, etc) for others to feel nearly the same feelings the artist felt during the original connection.  It is, therefore, natural that you experience goose bumps, exhilaration, a sense that all is right in the world, escape, love, passion, peace and tranquility all at the same time when you listen to great music, see great theatre, listen to a great speech or view great art.  You are experiencing nearly the same feelings the artist felt at that moment—you are experiencing the complex simplicities of the great beyond. 

Therefore, I am particularly attracted to the right-brained flow of impressionistic, expressionistic and abstract styles.  And since I feel especially connected to land, trees, rocks, sky and water, the vast majority of my work is landscapes.  I tend to avoid a lot of detail in my paintings—my left brain is not all that active when I paint—all I want to achieve with detail is to ground the viewer in the scene.  Beyond what detail that takes, the remainder of the painting is simply an emotional expression—typically a passionate love for the scene.

Influencers of Style

Nikolai Timkov, Nicholas de Stael, Joseph Mallard William Turner, German Tatarinov, Nikolai Galakhov, Sergei Zakharov, Alexander Koroviakov, Gustav Klimt, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Jackson Pollock.

Technique

I paint almost exclusively with a palette knife.  I tend to use large, loose strokes with a lot of paint.  Many of my canvases are quite heavy with layers and globs of paint.  The textured result is unique, and significantly adds to the complexity of the painting.  As the light reflects off the sides of the raised surfaces of paint it can create different views and emotions.

You can see in this example (from “Autumn Chill”) the shadow cast by the paint, as it is raised off the surface of the canvas and literally curling over on itself.  

I learned from Richard Hill Chase to use the color wheel and mix my paints so they blend harmoniously on the canvas.  Therefore, I mix my paints according to standard color theory prior to starting any painting.  This limits my palette for any one painting but I am guaranteed that all of the colors will "sing together" on the canvas when I am finished.  This technique also accomplishes one other important objective—it completes the science part of the exercise, color theory, and allows my right brain to take over from there.  This technique may sound strange to most formally trained artists, however, I am a formally trained accountant.  I still spend most of my day actively engaging my left brain managing a $40M company.  Just the word ‘theory’ engages my left brain and creates a desire to “dig into the details.”  Therefore, before I start a painting, I set out paints that I know will harmonize.  Then I relax the left side of my brain and let Creativity make the image. 

What makes my art distinctive is that my movements with the palette knife, often quick, with a lot of passion, are used to create fairly simple, quiet compositions.  Since I like harmonizing colors, I tend to use color in a very pleasing way.  Eventually, I came to realize that, in artistic terms, I had developed a unique style that not many artists have pursued.  Most artists try to create tension in a painting with color or subject matter.  I have taken the exact opposite tact, creating tension in the movement of the paint itself, while my colors and subject matter are quiet and pleasant.  

Education

• Consistent mentoring sessions with Richard Hill Chase starting in April 2001 until April 2004 (Mr. Chase, God rest his soul, passed away in April, 2004).
• Golden Gate University, San Francisco, MBA in Finance, 1988.  GPA 3.9
• University of New Mexico, Anderson School of Management, Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, 1984.  GPA 3.6