Location: Canada
Frantisek Strouhal was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, from a family of painters and artists. His interest in art has always been focused on the traditional and classical painters. He was introduced to photography while studying fashion design in college. Primarily self-taught he learned the photographic and printing craft through the study of many renowned photographers. Photography gave him the opportunity to grow,
express and transform himself. While exploring the boundaries of the photographic medium his artistic nature developed a strong appeal towards the alternative process called Oil Printing. This process allowed him to find satisfaction in techniques that gave him complete control over the final print. His choices of brush, paper, texture and
lithographic inks determine the quality of his images. It takes him many hours to build up a depth of ink, layer by layer, to create the desired image. He combine the hands on techniques of this 19th century process to create a paper ready for contact printing with digitally printed paper negative. Minutes, hours, and days of hand labor applying layers of ink indicate his personal dedication to the work of art. Working with Oil Printing makes each image unique.
My Artwork reflects my love and struggle with solitude, as well as my ability to evoke emotions through the medium of portraiture. Through posture, personality and composition of light, each image is designed to lay specific emphasis on the core thoughts, emotions and moods that inspires and unravels our subconscious nature. Solitude, beyond being a physical circumstance is an internal disposition, and only in that state of mind can we truly contemplate. What we meditate upon is subject to our personality and experience. Through such deliberation we may find our own genius, confront our demons, or simply revel in sweet nostalgia. I aim to capture and highlight that which is internally prevalent and present it in such a way that reciprocates the central theme to the viewer.
Photography has become the median through which I translate the language of the heart and soul, as subjected to my individual experience and expression. I have found an affinity with methods outside the prevailing conventions of contemporary photography in combining 19th century styles with 21st century art and craft. What you see on my canvas is a commentary from the core of my being.
Half-painting, half-photography, I use the inveterate Oil printing technique in the creation of my works. The resulting image is mono-toned and hazy. My pieces reminisce on the romance of yesteryear but there is an essence of newness in each photo-painting that forges the crucial link between past and present.
My work is dreamy and unhurried, like the romantic period my work reflects. The processes I use are the same, slow but intense; the result is an image that asks for that time back from the viewer. The painstaking craftsmanship this technique requires brings a sense of intimacy to my art. My work is a reflection of my own personal renaissance; in an age where everything is driven by technology, I resort back to antiquated methods that give much more feeling and depth to my work.
My style conveys drama, and emphasizes a sense of mystery by ensuring a variety of textures, shapes, sizes, and shadow play. My mission is to counterbalance the attack on our senses in this fast paced world, at times loud, discordant, as well as vulgar with a display of elegance, grace and dignity.
“Rio”
“Aurora”
“Dreaming of Days to Come”
“Living a Fairy Tale”
“Innocence”
“The Bathers”
