Gerald C. Gatski

"For as long as I can remember, still life has held a special fascination for me. Throughout my early art training I was fortunate to have had instructors that allowed for my natural tendency toward realistic still life, while encouraging me to experiment with other approaches, styles and media. Their guidance gave me a well-rounded foundation of art, art history and the fundamentals of drawing and painting.

Still life offers me flexibility in approach and infinite possibilities with subject matter. The subject and/or object can either represent itself or it can be used as a symbol of abstract thought. A still life may bring back memories or stimulate the seeing and/or thinking about the present and possibly the future. With the use of trompe d'oeil approach, subject matter need not be limited to tabletop arrangements. Landscapes, figures, and other subjects, which are not normally associated with still life, can be introduced.

Although my paintings are realistic, I do not use photographic or mechanical aids for any part of my painting process. All the subjects / objects are painted from life. Some exist as they are shown in the painting, while with others I use "artistic license" to make whatever changes are necessary for the painting and others do not exist at all. Also, I use no drawing on the panel before starting to paint - drawing being defined as pencil, charcoal, ink etc. I start the painting by "mapping out" the composition in an abstract fashion using tone. After this dries, I either strengthen the under painting with tone or start using color, slowly giving definition to the objects, bringing the painting into "focus". Some areas of the painting are painted alla prima, while others are layered with translucent paint allowing time for drying between applications.

This is a very general outline of my working procedure. I am continually experimenting with different aspect of the painting process while maintaining sound traditional procedures. In this way each painting is a new experience and challenge, keeping the painting fresh. Nothing in my approach or method is formulated. Also most of the materials are prepared in the studio - panels/canvas, mediums, and paints, although recently I introduced tube paint to my palette having found a paint manufacturer that produces paint in small batched with no alterations or additives.

detail of Painting
by Gerald C. Gatski

My studies have not been isolated to still life and the materials and techniques of oil painting. To better understand my art and in order to keep progressing and evolving as an artist, I devote much time to study of aesthetics and the ever-changing perceptions of the viewer and the relationship to the subject, how they see and how they think they see is definitely an ongoing and endless study.

One goal with the paintings is to represent people, not necessarily an image of a specific individual but rather my interpretation of the human spirit. It may seem unusual that a still life artist be concerned with people, but the objects themselves have no soul, no meaning unless they connect with people, a person. People made the object, people used, abused, cherished, collected, and on and on. Someone has just left, someone has just arrived, someone has remembered, someone has forgotten. The "still life" remains as a reminder of that moment in time."

Biography

Gerald C. Gatski, born in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, and has been a Vermont resident for more than five years. His interest in art began early and formal training started while in high school. After graduation he enrolled at Luzerne County Community College (Associates Degree). Mr. Gatski's art studies followed the apprenticeship or Atelier System of training, studying with accomplished, practicing artists rather than with set curriculums. He studied privately with Hsiao-yew Hsu (35 years) and then with Michael J. Molnar (1 year) To further his art training, he also studied briefly at the Maryland Institute College of Art and spent many months working from the Master's work at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art, ( New York City) and the National Gallery of Art, (Washington D.C.) He has also studied with several conservators of art to better understand correct working techniques with oil painting.

Mr. Gatski's has conducted many workshops on glazing techniques with oil painting and presented slide lectures on his paintings in New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Vermont. He has been listed with both Pennsylvania and Montana Art Councils for the Artists-in-Residence programs and has served on the Jury of Awards at the Salmagundi Club.

Awards:

• Mr. Gatski was selected to participate in the Vermont Artists Residency Week at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont.
  
• Membership in the Salmagundi Club, the Allied Artists of America, Artists Fellowship, Inc. and the Pennsylvania Coalition for Arts in Education.
  
• Two Fellowship Grants, one from the Ludwig Vogelstein, Inc. in 1990, the other from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in 1991