Ron Porter

http://nashvillearts.com/2010/08/30/ron-porter-brings-it-into-focus/

I was intrigued by this article mainly because of the interesting first picture. Ron Porter is a local surrealist artist who combines realist landscapes with out of place everyday objects. I thought it was interesting, however, that Porter first started out as an abstract painter. I think although his paintings look very detailed and the landscapes look very realistic now, his previous abstract style is still shown through the abnormal and out of place objects he puts in his artwork. Although we haven't discussed any art like this in class, due to its modern style, some of the elements we learned about are still present in Porter's paintings. Many decisions went into this painting, especially since Porter was not just recreating a scene. He had to decide what exactly he was going to include in it, and when he was going to stop adding objects. He also included  a foreground, middle ground, and background, and created a horizontal axis throughout the painting with the horizon.