David Grossmann and two year old nephew, using a paint ap on his ipod so that he and I could paint together.

Interview with artist David Grossmann —

“Between the Sky and Earth at Sunrise”
34×20 inches
oil on linen panel

1. Who are you and what do you do?
I am David Grossmann, and I paint poetic landscapes. They are simplified images that capture the essence of places and convey emotion in subtle, quiet ways. Every painting is a self portrait of the artist, so perhaps that is who I am: quiet introspective, searching.

“In The Autumn Wind”
30×50 inches
oil on linen panel

2. Why art?
Many reasons. One reason is that I grew up between cultures and between languages; my family is from the United States but we lived in Chile, and I felt unable to connect in either culture or to express myself fluently. Art became an alternate language, a place I could connect.

“Treading Lightly
24×18 inches
oil on linen panel

3. What is your earliest memory of wanting to be an artist?
It was always necessary, as far back as I can remember. As a child I would spend two or three hours every day drawing because I loved it. Art was always present in my family, it was the context that I grew up with, coming from a line of hobby artists and creative people.

“Golden Layers”
18×24 inches
oil on linen panel

4. What are your favorite subject(s) and media(s)?
Usually I paint landscapes in oil on linen panels.

“Bone White Sky”
7×12 inches
oil on linen panel

5. How do you work and approach your subject?
Balance is an important idea to me. Part of that is the balance between spontaneity and a slow, meditative building of layers. The spontaneous side comes when I paint outdoors, which I do frequently. This forces me to paint very quickly, capturing the light and the feeling of a place before it changes too much, or before the wind blows my easel over or the rain comes or any of the multitude of other perils that happen when painting outdoors. My studio work is the meditative side of what I do. In my studio I always have many paintings in progress; I work on one for a while, set it aside to dry, and pick up another one, letting them slowly take shape over the course of several weeks or several months.

“The Sky Through Early Budding Trees”
12×7 inches
oil on linen panel

6. What are your favorite art work(s), artist(s)?
Works that are honest and respectful of life and of beauty. Some of the artists who have been most inspiring to me are George Inness, Emil Carlsen, Andrew Wyeth, and the landscapes of Gustav Klimt. Living artists who I admire include T. Allen Lawson, George Carlson, and my friend Jivan Lee.

“Autumn Color Patterns”
30×50 inches
oil on linen panel

7. What are the best responses you have had to your work?
What means the most to me is when people take the time to stop and look. Subtlety is an important concept in my work, so when people begin to see the layers of paint, the weave of the linen, the textures of the brushstrokes, then I feel like they are beginning to understand the language of my paintings.

“The Moon and Scattered Aspen Trunks”
8×10-inches
oil on linen panel

8. What advice would you give to other artists?
Listen. Turn off the noise, sit outside, close your eyes, and listen.

David Grossmann – at Work
Photo by Kent Meireis

9. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
What is most important to me in my art and in all of my life is to connect with God and to connect with people. My work as an artist is part of that.

David Grossmann

LINKS—

 
Website:  www.DavidGrossmann.com
Blog:  DavidGrossmann.com/news/
Email:  info@DavidGrossmann.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Artwork-of-David-Grossmann/136604503071837
ARTSY: https://www.artsy.net/artist/david-grossmann