The Art Portfolio of Painter Nicholas Esch
Painter Nicholas Esch produces beautiful, highly detailed works of photo realism. The artist’s subject matter spans portraiture, landscapes, still life, and more, with each subject -- human or otherwise -- rendered with a careful, patient hand.
Michael Elwes Esq, oil on Ampersan board
It’s nice to see some variation in the way Nicholas layers brush marks onto his canvases. With human subjects the artist tends toward fine lines and softly blended colours, utilizing a somewhat subdued palette for backgrounds and props, emphasizing the warm tones of skin and hair. In landscape and still-life images, however, the artist occasionally veers into a slightly looser painting style which is especially complementary for faraway figures in his seascapes.
I like the way that Nicholas sometimes leaves the edges of his paintings unfinished -- heavy, deliberate brush marks give way to a ragged line of raw canvas, reminding the viewer of the artifice of the portrait or image.
