Artistic Influences: Painting Edition

RemyKoufax | July 2, 2024, 4:33 p.m.

Artistic Influences: Painting Edition

Midnight Rider


“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." -Kamala Harris


The best way to learn the art of painting is to study the works of other artists. 


Some of the artists that have inspired me over the years include Yoshitaka Amano, John Singer Sargent, Fredrick Remington, and Fritz Scholder. I encountered these artists at different stages in my life and they have each left their mark on the work I make today. In addition to these artists, I have had an obsession with the Hudson River School for many years.


Of course there are many more artists out there that have influenced me and my artwork, but I wanted to focus on the few that have directly impacted my painting. 

Yoshitaka Amano

Amano is a Japanese Illustrator mostly known for his work on the Final Fantasy video game series. I first discovered Amano as a teenager and fell in love with his Vampire Hunter D illustrations. In fact, I used the money from my first paycheck at my first job to buy a book of Amano’s Vampire Hunter D illustrations. 


As an illustrator, Yoshitaka Amano combines western influences with the art of traditional Japanese painting. Amano favors mixed media and loose brushwork. He works quickly, applying color directly to paper often without the aid of an underdrawing.

John Singer Sargent

I was fortunate enough to work in a museum that housed one of Sargent’s most famous paintings. I took the time to study the work as often as I could. Sargent’s portraits are a mesmerizing combination of brushwork and emotion. His artwork plays with the picture plane as much as it studies the human spirit. 


A titan of painting, John Singer Sargent has been an influence of mine since college, when I was first introduced to him. For me, there is no better guide to welding oil paint than Sargent. 

The Hudson River School

My very first painting mentor introduced me to the Hudson River School. I was immediately captivated by the sense of sublime invoked by these painters. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to see paintings by the Hudson River School in person, including artworks by Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt, and Fredrick Edwin Church


With their iconic depictions of early America, the Hudson River School is forever associated with the beauty of the American landscape as well as the destructive forces of U.S. expansion. These artists sought to capture in pigment the awe-inspiring valleys, mountains, and forests of the United States before they were tarnished by industry, commerce, development, and all the other transmutational forces inherent to modern civilization. 

Frederick Remington

I first encountered Remington’s work at the Denver Art Museum. I was enchanted by his portrayal of the Old West. I’ve since studied his artworks in detail and read his stories about traveling the American frontier. Remington was a realist who depicted and chronicled the world as he saw it. There is always a sense of storytelling about his work, something I also strive to achieve.

Fritz Scholder

The first time I saw Scholder’s work, I was taken aback. His paintings are a blend of pop-art and serious reflection on the state of American culture. And his use of color is breathtaking. Apart from his talent with a brush, I am inspired by Scholder’s ability to show you the world from his perspective.

N.C. Wyeth

The Wyeth family is overflowing with talent, but N.C. Wyeth has always been my favorite. An illustrator and painter, Wyeth had a flair for the fantastical. He combined a powerful imagination with a painter’s skill and captured the imagination of America. 


Wyeth inspires me as both an illustrator and an oil painter. I agree with Wyeth that there is a difference between the two. Unlike his son, Wyeth was never taken very seriously by the art world, but his work has remained impactful. Like Wyeth, I implore photography, collage, and other materials to produce my reference images.

Afterthoughts

These are only a few of the artists that have made an impact on my work over the years. A complete list would take too long to write and be too long to read. I plan on providing another list of my influences in the future, but I wanted to start with the painters that have inspired my oil painting practice, which is the work I’ve developed the most intentionally and consistently over the years. 


It’s important for me to read about the lives of my favorite artists and to study their work. It not only makes me a better artist, but it provides deeper context to appreciate the artwork. I hope that by discussing the work that has inspired me, I can in turn inspire you.


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