Oklahoma
Derek Penix, Boats in Villefranche, France, oil, 24 x 36.
What inspired your winning entry? My wife and I love the south of France, and we decided to visit again last September. I specifically went to see the amazing fishing boats that we had seen on our previous trip. I was drawn to them, but I also wanted to experiment with altering the colors to create something interesting and unique. The original boats in this painting were orangey-yellow, but I wanted to tweak them to be a more golden yellow and push color harmony by adding purples here and there. I wanted to convey a sense of color harmony along with a looseness that would draw the viewer in. I am constantly aspiring to evolve my work, and with this piece I pushed myself a little harder to get out of “my box.”
How does the painting fit in with the rest of your body of work? My trip to the south of France inspired me to do a series of boats. BOATS IN VILLEFRANCHE, FRANCE was part of that series.
Where did you study art? I have studied with Quang Ho and C.W. Mundy.
What other artists, living or deceased, have influenced your work? Carolyn Anderson, Nicolai Fechin, John Singer Sargent, and Anders Zorn.
What galleries represent your work? Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA; Gallery 1261, Denver, CO; Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; Eisenhauer Gallery, Edgartown, MA; Gardner Colby Galleries, Naples, FL; Elizabeth Pollie Fine Art, Harbor Springs, MI.
Featured in the December 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
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