Artists Magazine - USA (2020-01 & 2020-02)

ArtistsNetwork.com 59

challengingtofindandimposeunity,harmonyand

cohesivenessina composition.Buta cityscapealso

offersa greatopportunitytocreateanenvironment

withuniquemoods,particularlythosethatresonate

withmepersonally.”Hehastraveledtoothercitiesfor

inspirationandoftenwillspendmuchofhistimejust

gettinglost,soakinginthefeelingofa particularplace.

Miurapaintsmorethanjustcityscapes,though.

Hissubjectmatterincludeslandscapes,figuresand

stilllifes.Regardlessofwhathe’spainting,helooks

foranemotionalresponsetoa sceneora mood,as

wellasstrong,impactfulshapes.“I’malwayslooking

fora challengeandfreshideas,”hesays.“Ifindthat

I canapplywhatI learnfromonesubjectmatterto

another.Atsomepoint,theprocesstranscendssubject

matter,whichI findinspiring.”

Theartistmaintainsa regimenoffrequentfigure

drawingtosparknewideasandstaysharp.“Like

a musicianpracticingscalesoranathleteworkingout,

I havetoworkwitha modeleveryweektopracticedraw-

ingandpainting,”hesays.“Sometimesa pose,lighting

ormodelwillsparkanidea,andI’llfollowthatideato

a finishedstudy.”Thesameis trueforlandscapestudies,

whichcanbecomeseedsfora largerpaintingora series

of paintings. For landscapes, Miura

works on-site or composes a work

from scratch, relying entirely on

memory and construction.

Triggering a Memory

Ultimately, it all circles back to the

concept or feeling Miura is trying

to depict. “The emotional response

I seek isn’t necessarily obvious and

is never sentimental, but is instead

a more subtle stirring that evokes

a memory. Without that resonance,

the painting is just a depiction.”

Years ago, the artist attended an

opening reception for an exhibition

that included one of his landscapes.

He walked over to a man standing

immobile in front of the painting and

asked him what he was thinking about.

Instead of sharing his thoughts about

the painting, the man said, “When

I was a boy, every summer my family

would pile into Dad’s station wagon

ABOVE
Under My Umbrella
oil on linen, 9x12

OPPOSITE TOP
Chicago Rain
oil on linen, 24x36

OPPOSITE BOTTOM
Racing Down
Market Street
oil on linen, 18x36