Once again my initial perception of someone’s art is dead wrong. My first reaction to Corbin Hollis Choate’s work was that he was a talented digital media artist. My second reaction was that of surprise to find that he actually creates his images with acrylic paint on canvas. . . by hand.
Painting for over 23 years in his studio near Ft. Worth, Texas, Corbin is a master at creating crisp, clean, and enlightened images with an iconic graphic design feel.
His paintings are inspired by the eighteenth and early nineteenth century French and Italian rococo period. Corbin takes “the essential elements of Rococo design: simplicity, purity of line and form, curvilinear rhythms, and classical subject matter; and present[s] them in a bold, stylized, and highly accessible manner.”
Corbin applies his paint in water-thin layers, which are delicately built up so that the edge of each shape and line becomes sculpted, in a sense.
As with many artists, his subject matter is inspired from a personal experience. These angels were Corbin’s way of dealing with the death of a close friend.
Corbin’s paintings are interesting on many levels. His subjects have grown from his own personal feelings, his formal style has evolved from art history and the masters, but in the end he still injects contemporary forms and colors.
With all these layers, the final images have captivating compositions that draw in the viewer. Corbin captures your attention through piercing eyes, like the painting below, through sweeping movement like the image above, and even through selective cropping, as seen in all these works.
I encourage you to visit CorbinChoate.net to be enlightened and inspired by the rest of his stunning paintings.