ARTIST STATEMENT

There is no more a vital and expressive subject than the human figure. However, in this age of brilliant photography and cinema, it is not personally satisfying enough to simply imitate reality on a canvas. In pushing media in a way as to both focus on rendering the human form with a respect to the tradition and craft of drawing, but to also utilize the specific qualities of a given material and technique, be it pastel, scratchboard, acrylic, animation, or whatever else, I can heighten the moments I am depicting. Hence, I consider my work to be an unconventional mixture of practices that I summarize as "Classical Expressionism."

Using those tools, I am also constantly under the influence of both narrative cinema and music, two artforms that have dominated contemporary culture. I strive to achieve the emotional narratives brought to the fore by those traditions, and attempt to speak in the same language.

As a result, the composition, the exercised knowledge of the human form, and the very application of each stroke, scratch, or scribble on my projects are all offered in an attempt to connect to an audience in the most human way possible, much in the same way as a favorite song or film. I am asking questions, but while I can not provide answers, I am able to offer empathy.

I hope you enjoy browsing my work nearly as much as I did creating it.

Sincerely,

Marc W Leitzel