Cliff McReynolds - The Artist in Brief

ARTIST'S BIO

"I just follow my nose"

WAIT FOR BLURB FROM CLIFF

Like most schizophrenics, criminals or artists, I'm out of step. First century reverence makes more sense to me than twentieth century sophistication. I see imagination as a better source of art than experience. Originality seems a natural byproduct of an artist's progress toward his potential, rather than a goal.

Since my goal is art locked into the real universe, I believe that conforming to universal creative principles offers a better chance for success than ignoring or opposing them. I'm not interested in "self-expression" or "personal truth" but in truth itself, particularly in its aesthetic and spiritual dimensions. In fact I define art as the creative expression of truth.

Because I use the trial and error method - mostly error - I experience painting as a series of emergencies building to a central crisis; will it be a work of art or trash ? Even a good result is a mixed blessing because it can get you half believing that perfection is just around the corner. Not true of course; one of the beauties of perfection is that the closer you come to it, the farther away it gets.

Certain distinctions often elude me as well; the difference between freedom and license, success and fulfillment, and especially between willfulness and tenacity. Years ago I approached all this with common sense, willpower and reason. These days I prefer something more practical, like prayer.

email Cliff McReynolds:   patandcliffmc@gmail.com
The Artist's Statement       What the Critics Say       Articles       Selected Exhibits       Selected Collections        Selected Publications

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY
Painting - Love Heals

"MCREYNOLDS [IS] ASTOUNDING -- HIS WORK ABOUNDS IN UNIQUE, OBLIQUE INVENTIONS ..." Walter Hopps, Curator of 20th Century Art, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian

"MCREYNOLDS IS A VETERAN TRAVELER THROUGH INNER SPACE [WHOSE] VISIONARY ART IS DEFINED BY SPIRITUAL QUALITIES AND THE ARTIST'S DAZZLING TECHNICAL SKILL." Dorothy Burkhart, San Jose Mercury_News

"...A MASTER DRAUGHTSMAN" Marilyn Hagberg, San Diego Magazine

"CLIFF McREYNOLDS IS ARGUABLY THE BEST OF THE CALIFORNIA 'MAGIC REALISTS'." David Tannous, Washington Star "MCREYNOLDS' STYLE IS IMPECCABLE." Fran Preisman, Art Week

"...SHEER VISUAL VIRTUOSITY... " James Auer, Milwaukee Journal

"FRAGMENTS OF HISTORY IN CLIFF McREYNOLDS' PAINTINGS COME TOGETHER IN A DISPARATE, OFTEN INCONGRUOUS AND WITTY PATCHWORK..." Stephen Prokopoff, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

"MCREYNOLDS [IS] A VISIONARY LYRICIST OF IMMENSE POWER, IMAGINATION AND INVENTIVENESS ... HE MAY BE SAN DIEGO'S OWN WILLIAM BLAKE." Richard Reilly, San Diego Union

"THE PAINTINGS THAT McREYNOLDS HAS CREATED IN THE LAST DECADE ARE BEAUTIFUL, POWERFUL AND SOPHISTICATED. THEY ARE WORKS OF GREAT INTUITION AND SUBTLETY. IN VIEWING THEIR SHARP, STRIKING CONTRAST TO HIS EARLIER WORK, WE ARE WITNESS TO A TRANSFORMATION SO COMPLETE THAT IT MUST NECESSARILY HAVE FEW PARALLELS IN THE WORLD OF ART." Thomas Burke, Publisher, Pomegranate Press

email Cliff McReynolds:   patandcliffmc@gmail.com
The Artist's Statement       What the Critics Say       Articles       Selected Exhibits       Selected Collections        Selected Publications

SELECTED EXHIBITS
Painting - Cool It

email Cliff McReynolds:   patandcliffmc@gmail.com
The Artist's Statement       What the Critics Say       Articles       Selected Exhibits       Selected Collections        Selected Publications

SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Painting - Rapture

 

email Cliff McReynolds:   patandcliffmc@gmail.com
The Artist's Statement       What the Critics Say       Articles       Selected Exhibits       Selected Collections        Selected Publications

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Painting - Snow Lion with Fish

Artwork © Copyright Cliff McReynolds 1974 through 2015

email Cliff McReynolds:   patandcliffmc@gmail.com
The Artist's Statement       What the Critics Say       Articles       Selected Exhibits       Selected Collections        Selected Publications