Michael Croman
American Landscapes

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Oil painting with cloth
An alternative to traditional oil painting techniques

Discovery
 As happens so often in the field of painting, I stumbled upon a different approach to oil painting at a critical juncture in my artistic life. It occurred in February 2001 when I began to paint full-time and chose to redirect the course of my most recent work. Over the next four years, I abandoned most of my prior approaches and pursued a new course of working with oils with heavy applications of turpentine and using cloths more than brushes to achieve a new imagery.

Background
I began painting in earnest in 1959 as a member of the second class of a new art department at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. The faculty was focused largely on experimental technique and their own work was typical of the styles currently featured in New York City — Abstract Expressionism and Action Painting. My work from those days through 2000 would generally fall into these stylistic categories. The subjects varied widely over the years but one distinguishing feature was the use of my fingers to apply and blend the paints and colors. The brush was used only for certain linear enhancements.

Retirement and a long-awaited opportunity
to paint full time
 After working at outside employment and devoting only part-time to painting for over 40 years, and having achieved a respectable record of gallery affiliations, exhibitions and sales; I sought a fresh start. I chose to attempt a complete break from my most recent subject matter (skyscapes) and technique (soft, blended oils in bright colors, using my fingers as applicators).

I chose to focus on the landscape; rocks specifically were my theme at the outset. I looked back to the landscapes of the Hudson River School artists who were the first to paint the West. I also looked at the work of British artist, Turner for mood and atmosphere. And I set up a series of exercises with different lighting situations in which the landscapes would be developed. Looking back at the first ten paintings of my new direction, I found myself enthralled by what felt like a student’s first adventure in painting.


Origins of the Wind
39" x 29
Oil on canvase 1989
Private collection

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