John Cross

I am an image maker who is interested in merging historical figurative/representational painting techniques with contemporary design sensibilities and contemporary materials. The artworks I produce are, on one level, all about surface. The surface of the material being painted upon is just as important as the subject matter. The juxtaposition of highly realistic imagery with flat graphic imagery creates a dynamic between the two that accentuates the true two-dimensional quality of the painting while also reinforcing the three-dimensional illusion. Through the interplay of these seemingly disparate visual clues I attempt to address ideas about relationships and connections to people and places through the literal and the allegorical as well as the literary.