Bernard Weston Art

Statement The observation of beauty is an invitation to pause and to just be present. My intention is to allow my viewer the experience of that pause, during which the encroachments of daily life fall away. Process My process is fairly simple. I apply Venetian plaster to canvas on board using plaster and drywall tools, brushes, baking and cake decorating tools, auto body tools and whatever else I might find to get the job done. My pigment recipes are proprietary. I paint on custom  French marine mahogany cradled panels by John Annesley Co. After the plaster cures it is burnished and then treated with a protective wax layer that bonds the plaster together and gives it a final lustre. My compositions and colors are inspired by ancient Chinese and Japanese brush work on paper. My Sumi-e studies in a Buddhist Temple and brush work with a contemporary Chinese Master, Yuebin Gong, are evident in my work. Sumi-e is a contemplative discipline in Japanese Buddhism and is practiced in the Zen and Shingon traditions. Chinese brush work from the 1200’s onward was part of the “Literati” culture: Chinese Sages and their philosophies, Chinese poetry and calligraphy, Chinese Feng Shui and I Ching, Chinese meditation (Qi Gong and Tai Chi) and Chinese Qin Music. More important than the physical process of producing the art, than artistic skill in color and composition, is my frame of mind or state of being. As a Zen Master or Chinese Sage would have done, I start my work day by emptying my mind of chatter or clutter, getting present to the process ahead. Meditation, Yoga and Chi Gong all give me access to clearing my mind. Then I begin my work. I feel like a little boy afraid of jumping into a chilly pool when I approach a blank canvas. Terror and exhilaration arise. And sometimes everybody I’ve ever known, loved, hated, wished things had gone differently with are there with me in my studio. Once I am “in” the piece I have a sense of disappearing, of “unworldly pleasure” where thoughts, the spoken word and time all lose definition for me. Terror becomes calm, exhilaration becomes focus and the crowd quietly dissipates. Bio I was fascinated with art as a child. I received ‘adult-size’ acrylic paint sets as gifts when I was fairly young -- say, ten or so. I wanted to know how ‘it’ was done. My wanting to know how things worked also made me disassemble many things around the house, both rendering them useless and often evoking the ire of my parents. When I went back to school to earn a degree in Mathematics in my late twenties, I also took art courses. I was thoroughly impassioned with drawing and painting and studied art with the same amount of diligence that I had applied to my math courses. In 1991, while attending school, I started to seriously pursue working in oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, pen, and my favorites – Sumi-e and Chinese landscapes on rice paper. I also exhibited and sold some of my early chiaroscuro and abstract still lifes at wineries and to friends and family. In 2005, I was helping my parents with a bathroom and kitchen remodel when I saw a demonstration for a Venetian plaster product. I was dazzled by its luster, glow, and the organic beauty of its ground marble and therefore trained in Los Angeles as an installer. Next, I began experimenting with the plaster as an artistic medium. In 2007, after seemingly endless hours of trying different tools and techniques, I began producing high-quality abstract pieces. I had found a niche, a unique tangent. At last, I had found my voice in ‘my medium.’ In July 2009 I made a mid-career choice to become a full-time artist. My first gallery show in Sacramento, CA in July 2009 was a success. July 2024 marks the beginning of my sixteenth successful year as a full-time professional artist. I currently have a studio in Battle Ground, WA.

The Artist