Artist June Stratton

June Stratton was born in Honolulu Hawaii and studied at the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, CA. Stratton began her art career in Pioneer Square, the art district of Seattle, where she was the administrative director of a successful gallery and atelier. Stratton now lives in both Atlanta and Savannah.Stratton combines photorealism and reductive tonalism to create quiet meditative paintings with a strong sense of color and composition.

Artist statement

My current paintings have been described as kinetic portraits. Although often figurative, they are not portraits in the traditional sense; I am trying to capture an essence of movement that uniquely defines a subject. I admire painters such as Gerhard Richter and Francis Bacon for their immensely skillful figurative representations. I am also, inspired by the narrative, lighting and compositional examples in the films of directors such as David Lynch and Sam Mendes. To begin my paintings, I take hundreds of photographs in one sitting and spend hours carefully selecting three or four images. These selections become a template from which I start the creative technique on canvas, where the image evolves.The painting stages are where the composition is pushed for dramatic effect and the desired level of chiaroscuro, with layers of luminous color, is realized. This is best achieved in oil paint. It is the painting process that I enjoy the most and I feel gives the subjects in my paintings their soul. As in film noir, I illuminate shadowy figures in mysterious environments to embody a sensual and arcane spirit. Viewing the art should be an ongoing, progressive experience where elements of my painting are not immediately apparent at first glance.