Kanevsky describes his technique and final painting as a process of finding the right notes on each layer. He writes “So I work fast, trying to hit the right note every time. That is nearly impossible, so I constantly fail. But I keep coming back to a painting. It accumulates layers, each one - more or lass a complete painting. Complete but failed. The layers are sort of like Swiss cheese - they have holes through which in right places you can see the previous layers. Eventually there are enough of "good holes" and also, because of all the repeated attempts, I manage to do a good top layer. And then I have a painting that has enough intensity in every passage to satisfy me. Then it is done.”
You can see from his progression photos on his website the technique he describes. Each layer is a finished painting in its own right, though through the artist’s eye it is not entirely satisfying. Here are progress images from his work titled “ Blue Bathroom”
All the steps can be seen here http://www.somepaintings.net/2009/ACprogress/index.htm
Each layer has its own life force, its strengths and flaws, its own decisions and thoughts.
He writes “They are in some ways diaries of their own creation.”
I am still unsure what makes Alex Kanevsky's paintings so visually appealing and delightful on the eye. I think it is the combination of a unique approach and the authority that captures his subjects in a raw subjective manner.
The bride is a supreme example of Alex Kanevsky’s painting skill.
A woman kneels on a bed wearing a wedding dress with a haunting expression, her eyes lost in the shadow of her face.
Alex Kanevsky’s figures appear somehow trapped against their backgrounds, blended in amongst the shadows, sometimes disappearing among the colour.
Alex Kanevsky’s website
Interviews :
http://rtspot.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/alex-kanevsky/
http://www.vivianite.net/alex-kanevsky-3.aspx
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