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“Color intoxicates, composition challenges the intellect, nature
feeds the human soul. It is the combination of these components on a
once-blank canvas that opens up a universe of possibility.”
"My paintings
are as much about the paint as they are about the subject matter.
Rather
than seeing a photograph, I would like
the viewer to “connect” with the painting, to share in
the
visual language and embrace the
underlying emotion
I have experienced as I orchestrate
each piece."
Born in Illinois in 1963,
Greg Osterhaus discovered his interest in art at an early age. As a
child, he received great encouragement from one of his Catholic school
teachers who took an interest in his artistic enthusiasm and drawing
abilities. His parents also enrolled him in private art classes where he
received valuable academic instruction. Greg moved from Schenectady, NY
to Roanoke, Virginia when he was 12 years old and has lived there ever
since. Greg attended Virginia Tech as a student of Architecture where
he spent some time taking art and literature classes and eventually
decided to switch his major to Fine Art with a graphic arts focus.
After graduating with a BA Fine Art in 1985, Greg worked for six years
with an architecture firm as a graphic artist and photographer. He then
tried a number of different jobs, always painting in his spare time,
progressing from 'moody' character studies of figures, to landscape
paintings in watercolor, oil and pastel. In time, Greg began to
frequent local galleries where he noticed works by a number of landscape
painters working in oils. It was then that he began to understand what
an artist could do with the landscape motif and also realized the
possibility of making a living in this field.
Greg
finally yielded to his passion for painting. He has religiously
maintained a schedule of two to four solo exhibitions per year over the
past fifteen years or more, and his work is represented in many
corporate and private collections across the US. He is always eager to
proceed to the next canvas, to begin new work, experiment, and define
and pursue a new creative agenda for himself.
Greg
is married with three children.
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To observe
Osterhaus interacting with his canvas, one would assume that painting
was his birthright. Effortlessly, instinctively, he applies shapes and
color in elusive brushstrokes that first appear insignificant, but
quickly take on meaning as the work evolves. The composition: most
often the pastoral countryside’s of Virginia under a shroud of
unorthodox color, echoing simplicity and placidness found in our natural
surroundings.
From moody to
brilliant, Greg’s use of color affords him unlimited freedom to create
on his canvas a world beyond, one seemingly untouched. Impressionistic
in style, his landscapes invite the viewer in, but allow each one to
draw his own conclusion.
“Paintings are as
much about the paint as they are about the subject matter,” explains the
artist. Rather than seeing a photograph, Osterhaus would like the
viewer to “connect” with the painting, to share in a visual language
embracing the underlying emotions experienced as he orchestrated each
piece.
Encouraged by his
parents at an early age, Greg has always had a passion for art. His
innate abilities combined with his technical training at VA Tech were
the foundation for his career. Building on that foundation, Greg has
gleaned from various masters, including John Singer Sargeant, Twachtman,
and Wolf Kahn, but remains true to his own vision. The important thing,
the artists believes, is to constantly relearn and reinterpret, keeping
in mind that there is no set formula, no safe
path.
–Helen Bryan
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