Episode 3 - John LeCours
Updated: Nov 25, 2018
https://johnlecoursartist.wordpress.com
johnlecours39 @ yahoo.com
“I have always taken inspiration from the natural beauty of my native New England and have most recently discovered Plein Air painting in Portsmouth Harbor. This is where my intuitive dialogue with the Sea and the Elements has allowed me to produce my most authentic work and has enabled me to discover my true voice as a visual artist. My central aim in painting is to create beautiful imagery. My creative process centers on a direct and intuitive response to nature and its elements in the tradition of JMW Turner and James Abott MacNeil Whistler. I hope to evoke a response in the viewer to these experiences.
I feel that JMW Turner was probably the greatest painter that ever lived in terms of his drive and passion; as well as his constant search for the 'Intangibles in nature’. He painted the moods, smells, atmosphere and the majestic
power and feel of the sea and elements. He was totally revolutionary in both his watercolor and his multi - layered oil Techniques. He was constantly experimenting and improvising.
As for my use of the word ‘Nederzee’ in many of my titles for this series of paintings:
This is my homage to both Turner and Van Ruisdale (who Turner revered as the best seascape painter of all time), as well as the Dutch Golden Age Maritime Masters of the 1600’s. I am using the word ‘Nederzee’, which means ‘North Sea’, out of reverence and great respect for this amazing Maritime Lineage, as well as giving utmost respect for the multitude of ‘color beginnings or sketches or dreams’ that Turner created while studying these masters. My ‘Nederzee’ series of paintings are an attempt
to honor this remarkable lineage and to blend some more modernistic and fresh influences into this amazing tradition.
I have been very fortunate and humbled by my success as an artist and take none of it for granted as the Art World and Art Market can be very fickle and can change in an instant. Most importantly, my paintings have allowed me to form lasting friendships with collectors from across the United States and Canada."
John holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He grew up in Saratoga Springs, NY. He currently maintains a loft/studio in his Townhome on the Lamprey River in Epping, NH.