Marc Barrett

Im drawn to old man-made structures; that move me. My subject matter includes: weathered fish camps, stained concrete and steel drawbridges, college rowers, quirky diners, Orlando skyscrapers, local homes, and business marquees.

 

A couple of my favorite places to paint is the "Midway Fish Camp", and Wekiva Island. Ive created 10 paintings of this subject matter over the last 20 years. Several business that ive painted were found where i grew up in Orlando. "Beefy King", "Merita Bread", "Ronnie's", "Olde Dixie Fried Chicken", "Ice Cold Air", and "Junkyard". There are multiple memories of family outing to these establishments that have formed a connection between the subject and my desire to create paintings. Now years later, these structures seem barely standing or altogether gone.

 

I started out trying to be a non-objective painter, and although i enjoyed the energy and scale, i couldn't find meaning. I was constantly trying to explain what I was doing. Over time I've tightened-up. An important influence in my work has been my dad. He was an artist/graphic designer; he loved painting watercolors and oils, "on-the-spot" of old buildings in Indiana. 

 

After deciding that regular eyeballing didn't look right, I fell into the trap of projecting the image onto the canvas. Im interested in the ordinary, not the exotic. My process is simple; I start out taking photos. My camera is my sketchbook. While I'm shuffling through photos, certain images attract my attention. My goal is to decide what view will best portray the subject in all its glory, hoping that something will jump out and say, "paint me".

 

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Artwork

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