Prehartwork  

About John Prehart

 

Artist statement:

 

    Art has always been a part of my life. When I was young, my grandfather owned a bakery and my uncle would design the cakes.  He would sculpt using butter cream and got great results from his process.  I remember watching him and being fascinated by the things he created. 

  This fascination with art has consumed much of my adult life and I cherish it.  Being able to create a piece and then share it with others is an amazing thing.  Visual art is a language that breaks down barriers of culture and background communicating with every one that view it.  That in itself is something worth celebrating and exploring further.  For me, I love making connections through my work.  No matter what reaction I receive good or bad I appreciate the experience and the opportunity to connect with as many people as I can.

 

 Why I make art:

 

   My reasons for making art are simple.  For as long as I can remember, the act of drawing or creating something seems to put me in a tranquil state.  Whatever nonsense going on in my life is forgotten.  When I was a child, whenever I was felling down or angry about something I would always retreat to the comforts of my sketch book. Though creating was such a big part of my chilhood, I didn’t fully grasp how important art was in my life until my college years.  I took a lot of different subjects to see what I was interested in, and I couldn’t ignore the strong pull creating a work of art had on me.  Ever since then, I’ve been painting, sculpting, and drawing whatever and whenever I can.   Making art serves as an escape from .  I was always an imaginative child making up stories and trapped in my own world.  Now looking back at that I can conclude that was my creativity searching for an escape or a means of expression. 

 

The creative process:

 

  When I think I have finished a piece I’m working on, I usually step away from it for a couple days to see how I like it.  Sometimes doing this makes me realize I still have more to do and I go back to it. Only after I am satisfied enough with a piece do I consider it to be “finished.”     For the most part the work I create is for my enjoyment based on how I perceive the world.  The way I look at it, if I enjoy the work others might enjoy it too, maybe for different reasons, but thats whay art is so powerful.  To be honest any reaction to a work of art is a good thing.  It can be good or bad but if people are talking about it, then you’ve done your job as an artist.      

  

   I use a bunch of different Mediums to create. I’m very familiar with charcoal, ink, and paint.  Most of my commissions are portrait work that involves the use of charcoals and color pencils .  My illustrations range in media but I usually create them in ink, much like old fashioned novel drawings.  When I begin an illustration or a portrait commission I usually visually organize the elements or figures of the piece on a blank document in photoshop .  I can visualize what I want in my head but it helps me to get a clearer idea when I organize in this manner. All I need for a reference is a photograph.   For my paintings I do things a little differently. Before I start a painting,  I can visualize what I want in my mind’s eye, but I don’t really sketch it out first.  I usually sketch out my figures and color relationships on the canvas itself.  I don’t like having a set plan for creating a painting.  I like the freedom to change what I’m working on at any time.  All of my paintings represent what I’m interested in life, usually my own photography, nature, or the optical effects of color.  I’m currently working with a special kind of ultra violet paint that blends with regular acrylic.  The results are very interesting, pushing my highlights to a neon glow or making a color or figure appear from nowhere.  These invisible uv paints make it possible to hide an image or an entire painting until a black light is shining on the work.  I developed a very unique technique to achieve this effect.  The idea of revealing the unseen and surprising the viewer is what drives my experimentation with this media.  I have also created custom frames with black light fixtures inside of them to go along with the painting.  Making this shadow box/ fame allows one of these paintings to be viewed in a dimly lit room instead of in total darkness.         

 

 

Education:

 

 

William Paterson University

Bachelors of Fine Arts

Concentration: Painting

 

County College of Morris

Associates Liberal Arts