The Remarkable Painting Technique of Harry Sudman, Artist

The painting technique of Harry Sudman is a paradox.  It is at once traditional and contemporary, spontaneous and exacting.  It owes a debt to the unconstrained nature of Ala Prima painting, yet draws on the meticulous blending and layering of the old masters.  The result is an image with the immediacy of a photograph, but which harbors within it great subtlety and depth. 

Like many realist painters, Sudman has been asked why he doesn’t just make a photograph of the image?  Why indeed does he spend so much time building an image in paint that ultimately looks like the approximation of a photograph? 

The answer is two-fold.  First, the image is not merely the approximation of a photograph.  In keeping with the tenets of hyperrealism, Sudman’s work uses the photographic image as a starting point and subtly amplifies and distorts, creating an image that is more real than real. 

Second, the act of painting – the craftsmanship devoted to the effort – makes a personal connection between the artist and the creation.  The process becomes a crucial part of the expression.  The essence of the artist, his skill and talent, is infused by way of the process.  So technique is a key component in defining the unique character of the artist and his work.

Sudman’s technique starts by working out the sketch on paper.  He has in the past used a projector, but he is not dependent on it, as many realist painters are, and prefers to work from a sketch.  In the same way, Sudman has, on occasion, relied on grid lines to render larger images, but prefers a more traditional approach to preparing the underpainting.

Having said that, Sudman doesn’t rely too heavily on the underpainting.  Unlike more traditional artists, his underpainting provides mere contours without imparting too many details.  Like an Ala Prima painter, Sudman fills in the details by working directly on the canvas, a more intuitive approach, less reliant on method.

Yet the physical application of the paint hearkens back to the old masters, a deeply meticulous and traditional approach that sees Sudman blending and layering to achieve a representational image, one far removed from the optical effects of globs of paint directly applied, as is the case with Ala Prima painters. 

Nevertheless, Sudman paints more quickly than the old masters he emulates by employing a modern, fast drying medium.  It permits him to achieve the layering of transparent colors without a long drying time.  In this he has more in common with other contemporary artists.

In the final analysis, Harry Sudman’s technique is a unique balance of the contemporary and traditional, an approach that is reflected in the work itself.  The art that Sudman creates is strikingly contemporary.  But it is brought into being by a more traditional approach than that which is employed by other realist painters.
Sudman’s technique is spontaneous yet exacting, meticulous yet unconstrained, cerebral yet intuitive. 

It is uniquely Harry Sudman. 

Malcolm Logan