Robert Swain: Painter of Color and Energy

My current project has thrown me back to the days of my freshman year at Pratt Institute sitting in my LCD class. Not only has my recent work brought on some nostalgia, but it has also given me the chance to discover some great artists who specialize in color. Take for example Robert Swain.

Robert Swain has been exploring color since the 1960's. At the beginning he was taken by the relationship between colors and the energy that derives from their electromagnetic waves. Most of his earlier paintings may look like LCD exercises that Itten would have admired, but if you focus deeper Swain is trying to convey feelings that he constructed through manipulation of different hues, values, and contrasts. My favorite is his more recent work where he uses abstract patterns to create his color relationships.