Brad Stroman

imagesBecause we live in a time when our very existence on this planet is in jeopardy due to the continual destruction of the environment, it is imperative that each of us use the means at our disposal to bring an awareness to this growing crisis. As an artist, I use my creative ability through visual language to address these issues for my viewing audience. Although society is bombarded on a regular basis with negative news about our situation, it is through my paintings that I hope to inspire those viewers with a sense of the beauty and wonder of the natural world around them. Common objects of leaves and pebbles, shells and feathers therefore play just as important a role in my work as a grand landscape would. As the great American painter Georgia O'Keeffe once remarked, "When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment." It is this same intimate moment captured in my paintings that I hope touches the soul of those who view them. By incorporating the aesthetic of the Japanese Zen Buddhist concept of wabi-sabi, my paintings become a stage where both man-made and natural objects play out their delicate balancing act. Deliberately austere in composition, they focus one's attention on the detailed trompe o'leil renderings of the subject matter in a way that complements the Eastern philosophy of wabi-sabi. It is through this intimate interaction between my work and the viewer that I hope a stronger understanding develops concerning our imperiled environment's struggle against the daily ravages of man.