Leonard Moskowitz

"I am continually challenged by my desire for simplicity in my work. For me, a sense of balance within a picture is crucial. Dark and light, sweeping vistas that surround a knot of trees, an actual moment of being in the landscape--these images of captured motion intrigue me as an artist. "

Lenny Moskowitz doesn't approach a painting with a preconceived idea. He places himself in front of his inspirations, trying not to judge his work in progress, telling himself that he is painting for the first time each time. There is a good deal of experimentation and trial and error. He hopes his paintings impart his emotional reactions to the visual world.

When Moskowitz is looking at a motif, be it a figure or a landscape, he responds to the shapes and flow of movement. He wants to meld with the subject and recreate a sense of its spirit through his painting. To communicate his emotional response, he simplifies and isolates certain aspects of shapes, exaggerates certain colors, and excludes others. He finds that this creates something new. It is not the subject anymore, and it is not the artist, but it takes on a life of its own.

The artist has a master's degree from Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield, Michigan, and is currently a professor of art at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He is represented by various galleries and has shown his work extensively in New England. He was most recently selected by the Liquitex Corporation for their Artist of the Month in July 2009. Previous awards include Resident Artist at the Anderson Center for the Interdisciplinary Arts in Redwing, Minnesota.