Born in New York in 1965, artist John Schuyler experienced early success as a business entrepreneur and began to experiment with painting in the late 1990’s. As he began to explore various techniques, he turned to Europe and found inspiration in the Old World art technique of fresco and the beauty of the Tuscan countryside. As Schuyler explored and experimented with the fresco technique, he discovered that the plaster medium allowed him a great amount of freedom in the creation of various textures on his canvases.
This discovery led him to shift his focus away from traditional forms of content and toward a balance and contrast of color that emphasized the texture of the painting’s surface. Schuyler’s process uses pigment that is directly infused into the plaster, which is then applied in layers. Once the layers have been applied, he scrapes, scratches and sands the plaster using a technique called “scraffito” that artfully alters the texture of the painting while revealing layers of pigment. Despite being the culmination of two ancient techniques, Schuyler’s work has a contemporary feel. Though of his pieces are almost reminiscent of landscapes, his only intention is to evoke emotion through color and texture and he achieves this result by approaching painting with a different mindset. Rather than starting a painting with a specific end result in mind, he allows the pieces to unfold on their own. Schuyler simply lets things progress naturally, in a process more akin to revealing the end result than constructing it.
He creates passionately, in the moment, trusting that the piece will take him where it wants to go. Schuyler tends to find inspiration in his day-to-day environment, and has designed his studio in a way that encourages concentration and feelings of serenity. His hope is that the soothing sense of tranquility and control will translate into his pieces. His work has evolved in many ways over the years and will continue to evolve in the years to come, but ultimately Schuyler hopes that everyone that views his work will experience it in a deeply personal way, and that the experience will continue to resonate with them on a subconscious level long afterward. Schuyler’s paintings can be found in galleries across the country and in private collections around the world.
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