Art has always moved my soul.  Whether it is the heroic grandeur of Michelangelo’s David, the love of a man for a woman as in Rodin’s The Eternal Idol, or the radiant world depicted in the sparkling drawings of Frank Lloyd Wright; art has always affirmed and fueled my deepest beliefs about the beauty of life.  In an age where the purpose of much art is to shock and repulse, where our psychic and esthetic sensibilities are under assault, Romanticism, the art of beauty, purpose and meaning is restorative and life affirming.  The beauty of beauty is that it is an antidote to ugliness.  Beauty cleanses and inoculates against the unpleasantness of the world.

David

For me, realism is the most accessible kind of art, especially when it portrays the human form.  Most artists would agree that the human figure is the most difficult to recreate.   But, in my experience, portrayal of the human form is the most deeply satisfying, for it is unmatched in expression of emotion and psychological insight.

When working, I am always mindful of the maxim, “The greater a work of art, the more universal its meaning.”  I strive to create imagery based on broad themes that are universally understood, yet may inspire a deeply personal response in each individual. 

Lightfall

My acrylic sculptures are a blend of figurative and abstract forms, a fusion that I enjoy creating and to which acrylic is beautifully suited.   Acrylic is a truly modern material and working with it is like working with no other medium.  I start out with clay, a lump of earth, but end up having created an ethereal world infused by light. A wonderful aspect of acrylic sculpture is that it is clear and has an interior: a “fourth dimension” that allows the viewer to look into the artwork.  This characteristic offers the greatest challenge in working with the material because the original sculpture model is opaque clay or plaster.   While creating the model, I must envision through the plaster what is going on inside the work -- the reflections and refractions as they will appear in the final clear artwork.  This is the most difficult aspect of my acrylic art, but when I get it right it is the most satisfying.

I am an architect by training and I have always been fascinated by the surroundings people live in – their worlds.   The interior of an acrylic is a light-filled world that makes it possible for me to tell stories in space and time, in which my figures come alive.  The men and women I create are conscious in their lives and have the power to make their dreams a reality.   This is something I hope collectors see and appreciate.  I believe art should uplift the human spirit, show us what is possible.  That is why I seek the ideal in my art; the ideal illuminates our potentialities and acts as an affirmation of the best within us.

   – Michael Wilkinson