bill braun

BILL BRAUNTrompe l’oeil paintings

Big Sunf lower, acry l ic on canvas, 18”x18” $2,400.00

BILL BRAUNTrompe l’oeil paintings

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

AUGUST 7 - 31, 2014

OPENING RECEPTION

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014, 6PM-8PM

PATRICIA ROVZAR GALLERY1225 Second Ave, Seattle WA 98101

www.rovzargallery.com

B i l l Braun’s paint ings are impress ive feats of hyperreal ism. At f i rst g lance what appears to be the ingredients for a chi ld ’s art project of crumpled craft paper, masking tape, staples and cut out construct ion paper, in real i ty i s a t ight and prec ise implementat ion of acry l ic paint on canvas. The end result i s a br i l -l iant execut ion of t rompe l ’oei l pa int ing.

Trompe l ’oei l (French for “to deceive the eye”) , i s a type of paint ing by which var ious techniques persuade the v iewer that he or she is looking at three-dimensional objects , rather than objects or scenes that are actual ly painted on a two-dimensional p lane. Braun’s work is an unusual example of t rompe l ’oei l . H is stra ightforward landscapes or st i l l l ives take on a p layful qual -i ty in part due to the br i l l iant color palette, but a lso from his chi ld l ike composi -t ions and subjects .

For over 25 years , B i l l Braun has honed his technique of d ist inct ive trompe l ’oei l pa int ing and has enjoyed extraordinary success not only in the Northwest , but a lso in art environments a l l over the world.

Bees & Butterf l ies , acry l ic on canvas, 16”x20”, $2,400.00

Ful l Moon, acry l ic on canvas, 24”x42”, $4,500.00

Octopus Vase, acry l ic on canvas, 24”x24”, $3,400.00

Lazy Bear, acry l ic on canvas, 35.5”x36”, $5,300.00

Midnight Snack, acry l ic on canvas, 24”x20”, $3,100.00

Dandel ion, acry l ic on canvas, 18”x18”, $2,400.00

My Backyard, acry l ic on canvas, 24”x27”, $3,500.00

Spider Song, acry l ic on canvas, 22”x34” $3,800.00

Two Bucks, acry l ic on canvas, 25”x24”, $3,400.00

Early Snow, acry l ic on canvas, 24”x33” $3,900.00

Early Snow, acry l ic on canvas, 24”x33” $3,900.00

Spotted Owl, acry l ic on canvas, 20”x16”, $2,400.00

Tal l Sunf lower, acry l ic on canvas, 24”x15”, $2,600.00

Vis itors , acry l ic on canvas, 24”x34”, $4,100.00

Moose Lake, acry l ic on canvas, 30”x36”, $4,500.00

Moose Lake, acry l ic on canvas, 30”x36”, $4,500.00

Wild F lowes, acry l ic on canvas, 20”x16”, $2,400.00

Wild F lowerpot, acry l ic on canvas, 18”x18”, $2,400.00

Moose Family, acry l ic on canvas, 23.5”x34.5”, $4,100.00

BILL BRAUN

Not an Artist Statement

I don’t like to give an artist statement because it undoes the premise of my work, trompe l’oeil paint-ing. Literally from the French, trompe l’oeil means “trick the eye”. An artist’s statement might undo the fundamental aim of convincing the viewer, at least for a moment, that what he sees are actual objects and not a painting. The basic rules of trompe l’oeil painting are that objects are rendered in real scale, and totally within a shallow painted space. This type of painting has always been a minor branch of realist painting, but with a very long history. The Athenian painters Xeuxis and Parrhasios in 5th century B.C. (as told by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History) and Roman murals of the 2nd century A.D., 16th century Dutch vanitas painting and the 19th centuryPhiladelphia School painters, Harnett, Peto and Haberle, are examples. Today there are still trompe l’oeil painters around; I am happy to be one of them.

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Moose Family, acry l ic on canvas, 23.5”x34.5”, $4,100.00