Alan Bray

Alan Bray’s landscape paintings are of his native, central Maine, and explore the dynamic between nature and humanity. Painted with precision by his quick-drying paint, Bray’s scenes often show subtle evidence of previous human presence. Natural phenomena such as wild overgrowth, animal tracks, mysterious forms, bogs, and mist are captured as homage to the rugged and uninhabited corners of his secluded Maine.

Alan Bray builds his landscapes with thousands of layers of casein tempera. Often used in Italian Renaissance painting, this ancient milk-based mixture produces an extremely thin paint and needs to be applied rapidly and with precision. Bray produces his vibrant details with short, almost pencil-like hash marks made with a very fine brush. Bray’s trip to study in Florence, Italy as a student had a profound impact on his work and it was here where he learned this remarkable and challenging technique.

The artist humbly states:
“I paint what is right around me. Occasionally it’s a big subject, but more often it’s a bird’s nest or a farm pond.”

Submitted by Garvey | Simon