painting with a twist asheville nc
A painting by Bryan Koontz, an Asheville artisan who specializes in landscapes.(Photo: Courtesy of Bryan Koontz)
It’s taken years for artisan Bryan Koontz to hone his empiric skills, but anniversary time he sits by a abundance beck or focuses on a admirable abundance view, he sees abundant added than the boilerplate onlooker. His eyes are accomplished to attending for the nuances in ablaze at a accurate time of day and admit the way caliginosity accompany out altered aspects of the water, rocks and copse surrounding him.
Lately, he’s been spending some afternoons sitting by the Laurel River in Madison County watching the movement of the baptize and again accompanying what his eyes beam on canvas.
“I go out in the acreage and acrylic on armpit aback I can,” he said, “I get a acceptable faculty of the breadth about me. Cameras can’t carbon what you see in the absolute world. My adjustment for plein air is to go to a armpit and alpha two or three paintings. I assignment on the beneath painting and do the antecedent block-in with color. I again go aback to the armpit on afterward canicule with several paintings activity concurrently.”
Koontz additionally spends time in his home flat abacus capacity and application photos to aid his memory.
He’s now alive on river paintings to advertise at Of Time and the River IV, an anniversary art appearance and bright that allowances RiverLink. “I’ll accept bristles to seven paintings on display,” said Koontz. “It has to be a painting of the French Broad River or one of its tributaries.”
Bryan Koontz works on a painting. (Photo: Courtesy of David Koontz)
This year’s accident appearance 23 of Asheville’s arch mural painters including one of Koontz’s mentors, John Mac Kah. The blow of the calendar includes Paul Blankiship, Cecil Bothwell, Caleb Clark, Rachel Clearfield, Tony Corbitt Jr., Theresa Darling, John Dempsey, Christine Enochs, Matthew Good, Mark Henry, Dana Irwin, Susan Kokora, Anselme Long, Alisa Lumbreras, Cathy Mandeville, Brennen McElhaney, Carol Parks, Jason Rafferty, Deborah Squier, Alison Webb, and Colleen Webster.
Koontz is an Asheville built-in who can date his ancestor in Western North Carolina aback to the backward 1700s. He describes growing up in Skyland in south Buncombe County as “a utopia.”
“It seemed to me that bodies admired one addition and got forth well,” he said. “It was a appropriate place.”
He went to Valley Springs from aboriginal through eighth brand and again accelerating from Roberson High School, breadth his father, Charles T. Koontz, served as a standout principal. Koontz Intermediate School was called in his honor. “I’m absolutely beholden both of my association are still living,” he said. “My dad is 85 and my mom is 84.”
Bryan Koontz works on a painting. (Photo: Courtesy of Chuck Hayes)
Koontz aboriginal best up a paintbrush aback he was about 8, under the advice of his grandmother, who was a archaic painter. He went on to augment his artistic spirit at Appalachian State University, breadth he becoming a amount in bartering design. He additionally met his wife, Carol, there. She’s a abecedary at North Buncombe High School. His daughter, Meredith is alive on a master’s amount in counseling. And his son and daughter-in-law, David and Jenna, alive in Asheville, breadth David works as an artist at Arca Design.
He realizes that newcomers can’t accept what the breadth was like aback he grew up actuality — to him it was about like active in Mayberry on the "Andy Griffith Show." He would go to burghal Hendersonville with his grandfather, sit on a bench and accept to the belief told.
“I do absence that appropriate abutting association that it acclimated to be,” said Koontz. “I am blessed about the region’s growth, but now there are bodies advancing actuality from all over the world. They don’t accept roots or a affiliation here. Aback article is austere over, they don’t apperceive the ancestor or the bodies who congenital it.”
He hopes he can bottle a blow of the ancestor he loves through his art. He wants bodies to accept a belly acknowledgment to his paintings and get a faculty of the accent of this place.
A painting by Bryan Koontz blue-blooded "Linville Gorge Backward Summer." (Photo: Courtsey of Bryan Koontz)
“I appetite my assignment to not aloof attending real, but to cull addition into the scene,” he said. “I’ve apparent that appear and it’s actual rewarding. The greatest amusement for me is to see addition abundance the work. I’m aggravating to abduction what I apperceive of the mountains, what I anticipate is special.”
Koontz realizes he could accept fabricated added money relocating to a big burghal aback he was alpha out of college, but Asheville is home and a abode he and his wife capital to alive and accession their family. He spent years alive in clear architecture for assorted press establishments — 19 years abandoned at Blue Ridge Printing. He’s been alive as a freelance clear artist and painter back 2008.
His projects accept included analogy projects for Mast General Store, including its anniversary Christmas cards, and book analogy for columnist Nadia Dean. His paintings are featured in three bounded galleries: Grovewood Gallery, Gallery of the Mountains and Crossnore Fine Art Gallery.
While he loves painting landscapes, he additionally accepts commissions for portraits of bodies and houses. He’s alpha to delving into wildlife painting.
Artist Bryan Koontz captured this agrarian otter on a bedrock in one of his paintings. (Photo: Courtesy of Bryan Koontz)
“I accept this admiration and appetite to be a abundant painter. I appetite to be as acceptable as painters of the past,” said Koontz as he called some of his favorites: William Bougereau, Charles Curran, Ivan Shishkin, the Hudson River painters, and Pre-Raphaelite artists like Lawrence Alma-Tadema and John William Waterhouse.
He additionally gives nod to Norman Rockwell, saying, “I adulation his adeptness to acquaint a story. Narrative paintings are some of the the accomplished forms of painting in history. He could do it bigger than aloof about anybody and usually with a amusing twist. I wouldn’t apperception bell that some day.
"I appetite my art to accomplish a difference,” he continued. “I appetite it to be article of value, be treasured, and accept a purpose in years to come. That’s one acumen I use acceptable materials. They will last.”
A painting by Bryan Koontz blue-blooded "Grandfather's Quiet Hour." (Photo: Courtesy Bryan Koontz,)
To agency a painting, acquaintance Koontz through his website, www.bryankoontzfineart.com.
What: "Of Time and the River IV," an art appearance and bright to account RiverLink, featuring bounded mural painters.
When: Bright is 6-9 p.m. Oct. 27. Free accessible examination and auction on Oct. 28-29
Where: Zealandia Castle on Beaucatcher Mountain.
Gala tickets: $75 admission at riverlink.org
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