About the Artist

Phyllis Pransky - Biography

Phyllis Pransky Artist

Florida Paintings, Universal Themes

Phyllis Pransky is an American painter educated in the principles of fine art. Her primary method of painting is in oils on canvas. She prefers painting in the style of alla prima, simple and direct. When light falls upon a subject and causes it to be beautiful, she can't resist accepting the challenge to paint it. Therefore, her subject matter is varied: still-life, portraiture, floral, landscape, seascape, interiors, beach scenes, architectural scenes. Painting en plein air takes her to locations across the globe. Her paintings are meant to be of meditative quality that will seduce viewers into its scene and influence an individual interpretation.

TECHNIQUE

Phyllis' highest goal is to transform her thoughts through images and portray a three dimensional life onto a one dimensional surface. She aims to capture what inspires her the most, romantic, luminous, opulent, and healing light. She studies the rhythm and the movement of light on the subject, whether that be clouds or matter. Light flows through a painting and causes patterns of shadows that help emphasize believable three dimensional form.

Phyllis begins a painting by mushing grayed colors around the canvas is the stage of her story. It shows her expression and her initial excitement and enthusiasm for the subject. She applies these gray shapes in swift movements. These initial shapes and values are the under-painting, the foundation, sketch or armature. She then commits to the dark and light patterns, accents, and highlights and applies them to the grayed shapes using very intentional brush strokes, some of which will be pure clean color.

Every painting is a story.

This process is like producing a theatrical play on canvas - a story with each shape representing a character and creative decisions that define the process. As in any production, there is a hero or heroin, a main character, and a supporting cast. Each performer is an important key and element of design in the overall show. The lighting must move, heighten or diminish as in the movement of the real light.

One wrong spot of color or brush stroke is similar to a note sung off key or a figure out of position in a stage play.

Each brush stroke is a creative decision.

After years of daily practice, Phyllis enters a realm of meditation as she creates form and harmonizes color. Her paint brush aims at your heart as well as your interpretation, but mostly she hopes her paintings bring increased awareness of the world's beauty and light around us.

EDUCATION

Phyllis is a lifetime student and believes there is no end to what she can learn.

Her principles of fine art and technique are a combination of acquired knowledge from the renowned instructors she has studied with and institutions she has attended. Now an instructor herself, she is constantly inspired by her students - and collectors - to continue to grow as an artist.

Scholarship Art Students League | New York City

Instructors: David Leffel, Gregg Kreutz, Gustov Reyberger, Thomas Fogerty, Robert Beverly Hale, John Howard Sanden, Daniel Green,

School of Visual Arts | New York City

Ridgewood Art Institute "The Barn" | New Jersey

Instructors: Arthur Maynard, Betty Kaytes, John Osborn, Joshua Fallik

Bridgeport University | Connecticut

Bergen Community College | New Jersey

Instructors: Harper T. Phillips, Florence Horowitz

Westwood Art Association | New Jersey

Instructors: Abraham Brill

Art Center of Northern New Jersey

Instructors: Vincent Caprara

Workshops with David Leffel, Sherri McGraw, Charles Sovek, Daniel Green, Gregg Kreutz, Chas Gruppe, John Phillip Osborn (Chip)

Associations and Current Memberships

Founder of the Marco Island Outdoor Artists

Life Member of the Art Students League | New York City

Life Member of the Ridgewood Art Institute "The Barn" | New Jersey

Marco Island Center for the Arts

Plein Air Florida

EXHIBITIONS/AWARDS

Physicians Regional Medical Center | FL

Waterfront Gallery | Marco Island, FL

Artist Colony at the Esplanade | Marco Island, FL

Marco Historical Museum | Marco Island, FL

Appleton Museum | Ocala, FL

ABOUT THE ART

Oil Painting vs. Giclee

Oil Painting
This process goes back to the middle ages, earlier than the fourteenth century. It is the standard technique for artists' easel painting. Other materials come and go, traditional oil is forever.

Phyllis finds oil painting to be a seductive medium. She massages the paint onto the canvas and wallows in the beautiful colors that mix into gorgeous grays. She can achieve the opalescence of the atmosphere that she sorts after. It is flexible and easy to manipulate and she can achieve a wide range of varied effects . Phyllis can combine transparent and opaque effects, glaze and body color, in full range in the same painting. The colors do not change to any great extent upon drying.

Oil paint consists of finely ground and divided pigment particles evenly dispersed and buoyant in oil. It dries to form a continuous adherent film when applied to a surface. The particles of pigment are locked into the film protecting them from atmospheric or accidental forces and from being disturbed by the application of subsequent coats of paint. It has an optical effect that brings out the depth and tone of the pigment. Illuminating light on an oil painting shines around the particles, then hits the canvas, causes a glow of color and comes back to the eye. Oil paintings most often have electric lights above them to enhance this process.

Giclées

Derived from the French verb giclées meaning to spit or squirt. The term giclée print typically connotes a certain elevation in printmaking technology. In today's art market, giclées images are the highest quality reproduction of original oil paintings with archival quality pigments and paper.

Phyllis produces giclées one at a time in her own studio. Her giclées are highly collectible. If the desired size is too large, she will have it produced by an outside source.

All her giclées are original as they are reproductions of her copy-written oil paintings.

Phyllis Pransky - Biography