Meet Geoffrey McCormack, this week’s top American Watercolor Weekly Ambassador!
Geoffrey McCormack, is a native Californian, born in Berkeley, California. He attended Cabrillo College in Aptos CA then transferred to San Jose State University where he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters Degree in Art/Sculpture. After graduating he began a 12 year period teaching Visual Arts at Cabrillo. Concurrent with teaching, he developed a freelance illustration studio directed at nearby Silicon Valley and beyond. After 30 years success with illustration, Geoffrey moved to Oregon and in 2007 dedicated to himself painting in watercolor.
“Chaos Theory and the Treachery of Images” (above; watercolor, green tape and masking paper, 30 x 36 in.): Introduced in his “Three Rivers” series, Geoff continues to illustrate green tape and masking paper as compositional elements in his paintings. He uses real tape and paper to preserve areas that are not being worked on, and by painting images of them into his compositions, they show the viewer his tracks and traces and remainders of his process.
“Learning to Walk in My Own Shadow #9” (watercolor, 30 x 36 in.): “I’ve been influenced by Trompe l’oeil, Constructivism and later, Photorealism,” says Geoff. “Although I don’t adhere to all the cannons of either school, I feel at home with their ideals. My paintings hover somewhere between illusion and realism.”
“Learning to Walk in My Own Shadow #13” (acrylic, 24 x 18 in.): Parameters for “Shadow Series,” are simple and allow room for variation.
- Middle ground of three rectangular planes of varying value, color and texture.
- Floating in front is an object that interrupts light and cast shadows describing a shallow but varying space.
- A taut string (line) dividing the picture plane both left & right as well as in & out.
The result is a cohesive body of work that tells of a considered, informed and ardent creative process.This series is all about the shadow’s power to describe palpable space and a composition that invites contemplation.
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