Artist Statement for Preston McCall
I have painted since I was a young teen, as my mother was an artist/painter and encouraged me to study art and to attend the University of Kansas, Fine Arts Program (BFA ’73).
My 1300+ paintings have basically been three types, Landscapes, Narratives and Automobile subjects. Having owned two different galleries in Santa Fe, NM (Paxton & McCall Fine Art, Inc. and McCall Fine Art llc) and having shown in many different venues, I have sold some 700+ of these, (mostly the landscapes).
I paint in oils and learned the best archival techniques to use to make these endure. My proof is seeing some pieces from 50 years ago which are still brilliant and in stable condition.
I also make many of my frames, as I have learned great skills in making these endure and have excellent finishes. Frame making is an art in itself.
I am most influenced by the Italian Renaissance school in my Narratives, but my Landscapes are more focused on a 'feeling' of the landscape, not just an accurate representation. My Automobile paintings are basic photo real paintings based on my unique auto restoration business interests over the years.
The www.McCallFineArt.com website shows fine examples of all three of my basic types of paintings.
Additional Thoughts
I am asked which of my paintings are the most 'collectable'. Obviously, the Narratives seem to be the pieces toward which most collectors gravitate. The Narratives are the most central to my own art ideas and embody a lifelong pursuit of my whimsical and historical intrepretations of what I find ART really is for me. Since moving back to the Kansas City area in 2020, post pandemic, I have comfortably found a great environment and studio where I can paint in solitude to develop many new Narrative pieces. Not being able to get out as much has given me more time to explore art history in greater depth, especially the Italian Renaissance paintings and of course the difficult understanding of the following period of Mannerism.
The Female Figure
I am drawn to the female figure. It seems to be the most difficult thing to paint in such a way that conveys a sense of sheer beauty and mystery. I took many figure drawing classes in my art school BFA program and was always amazed how uttely difficult drawing the human form is. Of course there have been many other painters who have worked with the figure after the Renaissance, but I feel especially, the work of the Italians was the most interesting. Capturing an emotional feeling and expressing the figure in such a way that it transcends just what a photograph can capture is the most intriguing part that I try to develop. Leonardo and many others proved to me that the 'story' of what the figure conveys is what art truly is. It is about a mood, or about a sense of narration, therefore I call these pieces 'Narratives'.
Mannerism is typically understood as basically having elongated forms, but after a serious study of 'Maneria' I am certain it involves much more. More emotion, more contrapostal and more exageration of the form on purpose. Mannerism was never what the painters called their work, but art historians needed some descriptive term to identify why these were different from just the Renaissance paintings. Pre-Baroque, emotionally executed paintings by some rather serious artists. Compare the work of El Greco to Caravaggio and ask yourself what Mannerism is.
Surrealism
I am also influenced by Surrealism, to some extent. The dreamlike scenes are intriguing to me, but not the Critical Paranoia of what Dali suggested. I believe some of the other Surrealists simply exploited the medium and were almost making paintings to pound some drum of imagination to gain attention in some grandstanding, attention-getting display. I respect the Surrealists in their freedom to dream, but not their pugnacious bellicosity. Dali was a very accomplished artist, but as a real painter, just look at his figures. I prefer Balthus as a more delicate Surrealist, although not recognized as a real Surrealist. My interest is in the portraying of a scene which could be imagined, and not simply photographed.
Narrative History
Some of my earlier Narratives are based purely on some of my personal relationships with lovers, friends and others whom, for some reason stood out in my imagination. As I developed these more and more, I came to the conclusion that the female figure could express better the sensation of mood and emotion... with a more subtle element and a stronger evocative nature. Drawing the figure and even drawing the figure from basic memory, seems to be the most difficult task. Many of these figures are studyied examples of poses which evoke a certain feeling of radiance, ballet-like pose and sublime beauty. Sometimes they convey emotions... and the paintings are sometimes, so named (Patience, Entropy, and others).
Some critics have suggested I call my work 'Neo-Mannerism' or 'Neo-Maneria'. OK. I try to avoid placing any hard definitions on the style or substance of catagorizing what I am painting. My Narratives, I prefer to call, are simply my Narratives or my Narrativos.
I am intrigued to add little hints of other characters, objects and connubial trivia gleened from other paintings, suggesting a hidden aknowledgement to these interesting paintings and artists. There are mysteries and subtle clues in many of the paintings which I am resistant to identify. You just have to find the clues, Watson!
The naked female form
Why the female form? The male form has too many muscles, evidenced in Michelangelo's bizarre treatment of 'too many muscles'. I prefer the more rounded and smooth shape of the female form, not because I find it more titilating, but moreover, that it is simply a more beautiful form. I realize that was what Hugh Hefner tried to explain, but honestly, I am really just trying to capture the beauty and not some lasciviousness or some pervistery. Art is difficult to understand at times. Just walk through the Louvre and ask yourself is that painting dirty because it shows a naked breast? Does the naked breast of the Venus de Milo figure evoke a sense of indecency?
Panel Painting
Lately, I have discovered painting on panel to achieve a finer detail. Smoothing out the surface and even applying several coats of a hardened urethane they use in the fine automobile refinishing industry, creating a delicately smooth surface. This reduces glare and makes the piece more jewel-like, in my opinion. The urethane is designed to last years in the exterior sun, so using it on a painting will surely survive the test of time. I find for a panel painting, this process is superior to any other surface. Yes, I let the oil paint beneath sufficiently cure and in seeing some of these years later, there appears to be zero shrinking or lifting on the subpainting. Compared to any other varnish or top-coating, this process is superior. Refinish the hood on an expensive automobile in Stand oil/Damar varnish? No way.
Should you have any questions regarding my technique or even the subject matter of these Narratives, please feel free to write me.
