Pastor of Munstergeleen
 

Pastor of Munstergeleen
Oil on linen, 75cm x 55cm


One of the perks of being a portrait artist is that every once in a while you get the opportunity to immerse yourself in the life of an interesting person. The Pastor of Munstergeleen asked me to paint his portrait after seeing the portrait of his friend and colleague Pastor van Horne (posted here a number of months ago). We decided the portrait should be connected to an incident which happened a few years ago in the Pastor

Dear Scott:

This is a masterpiece in every respect, and one of the most stunning portraits I've seen. I would say you have been very successful at achieving your intent of a sensitive portrait of a pastor reflecting on the wonders of life and spirituality. The chromatic and compositional harmony could not be better. I love the way you have so carefully designed the pastor's pose. This is a portrait all of us should take the time to study and enjoy, I hope this generates for you many more stimulating commissions of this caliber. Thanks for sharing this.

Sincerely,

Garth

Hello Scott,

just amazed by the delicate treatment of the hands...

Garth: Thank you for your quite overwhelming remarks. I think the absolute beauty of this Forum is the role it plays as a source of inspiration, so that artists living thousands of miles apart can become excited and stimulated by each other

I think it's the best painting I've seen here on the forum. It reminds me of the best works of Holbein.

Scott,

This is an astounding painting, piercing and calm and - can I say this? - very spiritual in a clear, intelligent and unsentimental way. I can't tear my eyes away from that face.

There are a couple of artists on the Forum that paint in ways that seem to me to be essentially unphotographable, and you're one of them. I would really love to see this in person.

I always feel a little out of my league commenting on your paintings because they seem so different compared to my own style. It's amazing to me that you can portray such intensity with such tight brushwork and careful color control.

Scott,

When you discussed Sargent in depth, I know you have keen eyes. Sargent likes Ingres, a new trend in China is in his direction as well.

I enjoy this master piece.

Peter: I

Scott, more than anyone else who posts work here, you get that ethereal, eerie Northern light feeling in your work.

I've been in this kind of light a couple of times - the western coast of Wales and New Zealand come to mind, and I'm told the Hebrides are also this way, although I've never been there.

There's a spooky mystery to this kind of light that is hard to describe. I can't do so because now that I've posted that I need angel's wings, I'm in danger of losing my Forum Credibility License.

This painting radiates a fiercely controlled tonalism, a stern refusal to provide cheap color thrills.

(When this painting arrives in Arizona we will give him a poncho and a red feather boa.)

Warde Scott,

Congratulations with the excellent result. I believe that you earned a par of wings now.

I just realized that you actually live in Holland. So now I understand why you painted a European sky. The building and landscape in the background also look familiar.

Do you think that there are distinct deferents in European and American taste on how a painting should look ?

Allan