SEYBURN ZORTHIAN

Biography as an Artist

Working from the figure in paused-motion poses, using Asian calligraphy ink, brush and techniques, I developed a way to express the invisible (or, felt) and the visible (or, physical) lines of the form in one continuous movement.

I integrated the abstract with the representational. The sumi brushwork became more of an inner expression of my own perception, while drawing study gave me a deeper understanding of the physical form of the subject itself.

I moved into color abstraction on canvas, abandoning for a period of time, the expressive brushwork and concentrating on composition building.

Integration of two lines of study occurred when I found I could maintain the sumi brushwork bones of the composition, while integrating color in a way that married the two elements to create a meaningful visual relationship, this time abstract.

Coming out of decades of immediate and expressive brushstroke, but having developed the ability to focus and trust the impulses that guide the hand, I began to paint purely for the development of the abstract composition, mainly in the form of small-scale watercolors.

The study of how one color changes when in relationship to another color, can be a lifetime pursuit. I decided to embark on an exploration of how opposite (complementary) colors react to one another using the expressive brushstroke as the integrating compositional element.

Being encouraged by a San Francisco dealer to make big paintings, I delved into working on the floor (as I had in the early period), using the large brush to lay down the bones of the composition. Color became integral in the character of the finished abstraction. Being able to walk on the canvas, the piece developed as if creating a choreographed dance.