Everyone has seen an iconic image. The vase of flowers. Still life with fruit. Woman in a chair. On and on. We never seem to tire of a well-crafted image or a new take on an old theme. On the other hand, some of these same themes can seem uninspired, or worse, boring.
I believe a good artist has to have a heightened awareness of Cliche and its pitfalls. The first choices in a project are important here, because subject matter and composition should offer challenges to the artist but not overstretch the artist’s capabilities too far.
This dynamic comes into play for me in the early stages of a painting. I want to maintain a consistent style but offer something new every time. I have tried to stay within the Surrealist Landscape label but change the style somewhat and also improve the craft of my painting. As different as my work is to other artists, I am trying, sometimes succeeding, other times failing, to avoid the boring cliches between my own paintings.