FIGURATIVE ART

In the case of most of the finest figurative painters working today, early childhood exposure to great works of art were often the catalyst that sparked a desire to become a painter. Old Masters such as Vermeer, Michelangelo, Raphael, and others can still powerfully resonate, and show that a love for the human form remains a timeless vehicle for satisfying and profound personal expression.

Shown above and below are selections of Carl Samson's figurative work.
Images are details, click to enlarge.

ARTIST'S STUDIO SERIES
Paintings inspired by the artist's studio

Multi-figured compositions provide ideal circumstances for a painters skills and vision to take flight. Opportunities to do so are relatively rare, and often require a patron willing to invest in an idea or concept that may take many months to complete. But for the artist wanting to spread his wings and fly, few other fields of the visual arts can equal the complexity and excitement inherent in this genre. Opportunities abound for narrative story telling requiring forceful gesture, rhythmic design, effective spotting of large compositional masses and engaging color. The commissioned painting above depicts immigrants from various countries having arrived at Ellis Island, ca.1920. Happy to have cleared customs, they experience a flood of emotions as they await the ferry from Manhattan that will take them to their new lives in America.