Gregory Scheckler

Artist Statement:: Inspired by Reality, Created by Artistry. In my oil paintings the direct observation of nature serves as primary source material for visual studies. Plein aire landscape painting, drawing from life, the quick sketch and primi pensieri – these academic methods make painting into a living, creative process. To these I add photographic studies, and sometimes computer-aided imagery. Another piece of reality is the paint itself, and how it behaves under stroke of brush or knife. In other words, realism is not a static endeavor. If paintings are to adequately mirror and express our relationships with the world, then they need to account for how we select, filter, develop and interpret the imagery that we perceive. Thus being a realist means being flexible. After all, if the universe is infinite and expanding, then there’s always more to discover.

Biography:: Gregory Scheckler grew up poking around the fields and woods of Wisconsin, son of a professor of medicine and a professional musician. He earned degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Washington University in St. Louis, and Utah State University, and studied drawing at the New York Academy of Art, and oil painting at the Angel Art Academy in Florence, Italy. His artwork has been shown professionally since the early 1990s, with collectors residing as nearby as New York City and as far away as Tokyo, Japan. As Associate Professor of Visual Art at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Scheckler teaches art courses that integrate the observation of nature with fine art. When not teaching or painting, Gregory can often be found hiking, telemark skiing, or hanging out with his wife the artist Laura Christensen and their two piebald cats, Jupiter and Masaccio.

North Adams Open Studios -