Artist's Biography

I am committed to abstraction. The works of Jonas Gerard, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Lana L. Grow, Agnes Trachet, Virginia Cobb, Mike Inman, Ben Georgia, Sam Havens, Mary Todd Beam, Joe DiGiulio, Bob Rankin, Robert Burridge and Pat Dews have a strong impact on me.

I don’t try to depict reality, I rely on color, contrast and texture to convey my feelings and make things visible. I love experimenting and am always looking for new techniques. I start a painting in varied ways, sometimes with simple color washes and lifts to start breaking up the space, looking for shapes to lead me to the next step.  Others I start with water soluble pencil, stamping, and sgraffito before developing the work with subtle layers of intermixed color glazes in acrylic. I spend a lot of time observing, looking for the major areas of the painting to develop, always keeping the movement of the viewers eye and composition paramount. I use a variety of mixed materials to create a surface that I am passionate about. I incorporate geometrical shapes, lines, scratches, brush marks and movements.
 

I sign my paintings on the back, never on the front. This allows the owner to orient my piece of art anyway they want to as often as they want.  I do show my preferred orientation on back. I also include a Certificate of Authenticity.

I was born in Canton, OH and grew up in Sarasota, FL. I have moved around quite a bit over the years but have just recently moved back to Sarasota FL where I currently reside. I started my artistic journey, March of 2008 and continue to produce new paintings.

I am currently looking for local businesses to hang my art on a commission basis. Contact me for details.

Contact Information

brian.sommers777@gmail.com   cell: 941.685.6196   Brian Sommers, Sarasota, FL