{"id":20120,"date":"2013-04-04T17:45:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T23:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=20120"},"modified":"2020-03-18T10:19:43","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T16:19:43","slug":"mike-bernard-textural-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/mike-bernard-textural-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Bernard: Textural Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"michael_bernard\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With their focus on texture, Bernard\u2019s work can feel crude and raw, but his pieces do not arrive by accident. His array of roller brushes, each for its own specific texture and painterly result, attest to Bernard\u2019s expertise in the field of painterly tactility, the material substance and physicality of art. He has learned, for example, the precise moment paint is to be \u201cpulled\u201d or \u201cdrawn.\u201d Bernard is cognizant of an aspect of painting most artists never consider, and it is this one, the most immediate, that fuels his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking for a roller that can lift enough of the color and spread it out\u2026 but not, not lift the whole thing,\u201d Bernard says as he examines his canvas. \u201cI\u2019m looking at how dry it is, how dry my edges are. . . I kind of need to let it sit for a bit ’cause I\u2019m looking at this edge right here so I want to keep this form so I\u2019ll just wait for the critical moment so I\u2019ll just see the sheen and tell its ready to be drawn.\u201d The artist is initially provoked by some element in his purview, be it \u201ca mood or the way light was hitting the mountainside,\u201d he says. Once this painterly process begins from such arbitrary sources, it is not quite a freedom of consciousness, but nearly that, with Bernard as a guide on a path with infinite routes to infinite destinations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Chosen accordingly is the pattern of the base, applied by a rag, or stencil of some type. He then uses a tool of any kind, from a wad of dried synthetic, to a piece of hard canvas, making marks of various hues and letting them dry until the precise moment when the roller can be applied to create a healthy field of microdots. It is impossible for Bernard to see the forthcoming results of this step and even harder to engage with any real notion of the final process and its results. But his process is no guesswork. He must have a sure and steady head and hand at this process, and from all appearances Bernard is in tune with his paint.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been up here so long experimenting,\u201d he says of working in his studio, \u201cand have been devoted to the act of painting, I\u2019ve learned a lot doing that.\u201d He\u2019s also learned by \u201cbeing an artist and amongst friends up here and critiquing and asking \u2018Oh, have you seen this artist\u2019s work\u2019 or \u2018check them out you\u2019ll be inspired by them,\u2019 kind of deal.\u201d In the end, though, it may be his own self-critiques that are the most important. He describes one of his own \u2018happy accidents\u2019: \u201cIt just came about, \u2018Oh, this painting sucks, I ruined it… swipe\u2026 wait a minute, hold on, that looks good!\u201d<\/p>\n

With the shapes on his canvas still slightly wet, Bernard takes a sponge saturated with water, wiping just enough of the wet away, at just the right speed, to leave enough color underneath and retain a healthy \u201chalo\u201d of still wet paint, and mix the colors just enough, not too muddy, to create an exciting new color. \u201cAnother thing I like is that I have a remnant of my original big shapes,\u201d he says of working from one idea to find another. \u201cI am going to wait till I have everything that I need close to have pulled off and wait for those to dry\u2026 and I am going to wait and then kind of give it a rinse and the thickest paint will remove.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are the final stages in the painterly process and there is a real tension filling the studio. Many variables that are quite subtle, from timing to motor control, have everything to do with the success of the painting. Seconds can be the difference between stunning line and color and muddy slur.<\/p>\n