David Bradford. An artist brings Montana’s skies to New York

There is a beautiful observation in the work of artist David Bradford, that reminds me of

looking at a Hockney or a Hopper. His feeling for colour and his play with light, makes his

paintings shine almost from within, allowing the viewer to be drawn into their sun-filled

landscapes and still-life living rooms.

I was fortunate to meet David on my last visit to New York and I wondered how a guy who grew up

in Montana and was influenced by those HUGE skies, copes with now being in NY,

where the only large glimpses of skies you can see is when you look directly up !

David told me that he spends time in both places. In summer you can find him in Montana

amongst landscapes where the light plays across the rolling plains. In winter, he’s more

of a city man, catching glimpses of Northampton, where he lives and works or occasionally

San Francisco where he explores the light and colour of the buildings instead.

He said ” I paint because I want to try to represent things that I see. I want to paint them

according to my feeling and my imagination, ultimately, my goal, as Andre Derain

once wrote, is to give life to a dead surface “.

David Bradford attended Skidmore College, graduating in 1988 with a major in Fine Art

and a minor in English. He has since taught in many universities and institutions and

had over 20 group and solo exhibitons, the latest is at the White Plains Library,

in White Plains, NY, about 1/2 hour north of NYC. Until January 5th 2011.

More of Davids’ work here.