There is now this neutral ground in painting and contemporary illustration where elements of fantasy are colored with an emotional temper that seems neither happy nor sad to a beguiled viewer. The two key visuals in this piece by Nathan Spoor are dimensional opposites. We have an elevated island with towers and turrets in the background; on a promontory (or another island?) slightly more visible in the foreground is the figure of a child holding a balloon. It would be tempting to accept all of this as simply a charming variation on certain familiar themes tackled by a host of other painters in the past (Wyeth's "Christina's World, for instance), but Spoor has added a third motif - an umbrella framed within one of the empty spires - which arrests our attention and sends us back to contemplative musings.
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About the Artist
Location: California
Nathan Spoor was born in Dallas, TX in 1974, showing signs of a very active and refined imagination. The signs of being an artist appeared at a very young age, culminating with Nathan finding his great love as a painter within the walls of higher learning in college and graduate schools. After realizing his call as an artist and accepting his gifts as a painter, Spoor would dedicate his efforts enthusiastically to pursuing a greater knowledge of its secrets and possibilities beyond the scholastic realms.
Nathan made the move to Los Angeles in 2001, where he would begin a body of work that has, so far, spanned the last seven years of his major works. By following an intuitive path of creating, he began to employ a process called Suggestivism to create a narrative wonderland titled The Intimate Parade. By sheer accident, or providence, Spoor had stumbled upon a view of a place called the In Between. There, Spoor is allowed short glimpses of the world that he now gleans images from and dutifully captures on canvas. Through both intellectual and metaphysical appeals, Spoor’s work documents the symphony of life unfolding before him and within each of us.
Spoor’s paintings involve images of transition and growth; fluid narratives that chronicle a world rich with the mystery, joy, pain, and delicate balance of personal and spiritual evolution. Believing that continuous study of technique and process are critical to his own growth as an artist. No image or canvas is too precious to wipe, repaint, and even burn on his own journey to discovery and expression. In this way, Spoor makes a personal and transformative connection with each piece that for him lives on beyond the finished works.
Find out more @ http://www.nathanspoor.com/
