My work
An artist lives in a world of choices. What medium to use, what subject to explore, what style to employ, even where to work. And the moment the brush touches canvas or pencil touches paper, or the shutter clicks, the choices become exponentially greater. You may start out with a plan, with a particular end result in mind, but intent is sometimes radically altered by what happens as the image emerges and matures. And believe me, sometimes the canvas feels like the enemy, resisting efforts to create the vision you had.
The works shown here are the result of some of the choices I’ve made over the years. Some came out exactly as I saw them in my mind. Some … let’s just say they were a serendipitous event.
I like all of them. I hope you like some of them.
“God is not remote from us. He is at the point of my pen … my paint brush …. and my heart and thoughts.”
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Biography
Leo Derkowski is a painter and photographer. His primary medium is acrylic on canvas or art board, but works with charcoal, pencil, ink and pastels too. He also makes images with digital photography. He creates both abstract and representational images. Leo has a BFA degree in graphic design with a minor in illustrative photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and an MFA degree in Studio Art with a concentration on painting and a minor in modern art criticism from the University of Minnesota.
Leo was awarded both a McKnight Emerging Artists grant and a McKnight Fellowship, which helped to fund the work required for a solo exhibition and participation in several juried exhibitions.