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

ArtistsNetwork.com 61

TOOLKIT

SURFACE:

ClaessensNo.

66 oil-primed

linenand

smoothgesso

onpanel

Paints:

Gamblinoil

paints

Brushes:

Nos.2,6,8 and

12 bristleflats,

particularlythe

SilverGrand

Prixseries;

1-and2-inch

housepainting

brushes

Miscellaneous:

scrapers,

knives,rags

maintainthatsenseofimmediacythroughoutmy

workandintothefinishedproduct.”

Afterhehassettledona senseoftheconcepthe

wantstoconvey,Miuradrivesorwalksarounda city

withhiscamera,takinghundredsofphotosonlocation.

Heuseslotsofreferencephotostoinspiretheurban

imagery,particularlyforhislarge-formatcityscapes.

Hethenselectsa fewpossibleshotsandrecomposes

thembymakingthumbnailsketches,usuallyusinga

ballpointpenandscrappaper.Afterthecompositionis

naileddown,theartistdoesa fewsmallvalueandcolor

studiesinoil.Hethencreatesatleastonesmallvalue

studyinoilandoneormorecolorstudies.Hiscityscapes

aremoreorlesstonalinstructure,soeachcolorstudyis

usuallya monochromaticsketchina specificcolorway.

Oncehe’shappywiththestudies,he’llusea brushto

drawfreehandontoa largecanvas,consultinghisphoto

referencesandsketches.Hefindsthebeginningofthe

paintingprocessexcitingbecauseit’sfullofpossibility

andanticipation.“Myinitialstagesarefreeandrough,”

hesays,ashetakesdifferentstructuralpiecesfromhis

referencephotosandinterpretsthemonthecanvas,

alwaysstayingtruetohisinitialconceptorfeeling.

Hethenslowlybeginstotightenthedrawing,working

inmultiplelayers.Thispartoftheprocessis a challenge

forMiura,asheworkstomakesurealloftheshapes,

colorsandvaluesfittogether.Afterheblocksinallof

theelements,hestartstodeconstructthem,abstracting

shapesandplayingwithsurfaces.“I workalloverthe

surface,usinga varietyoftools,includingbrushes,scrap-

ers,knives,ragsandmyfingers,”hesays.“Theabstract

mark-makingis theresultofdifferentapplicationsof

ALL THAT

JAZZ

Miuraoftenlistenstojazz

musictohelpkeephis

thinkingabstractinsteadof

representational.Helooksfor

harmonyinthemusicand

colors,andseesthepleasing

placementofelementsonthe

canvasasaligningwithother

musicalterminology,suchas

rhythmandcadence.“When

I getstuck,I listentomusic,”

hesays.“Itliberatesmefrom

thinkingabouttherules.”He

findsinspirationinMiles

Davis’poeticimprovisation

whichsometimesstaysclose

totherigidstructureandat

othertimesstraysfaraway

fromit,butisneverlost.

paint—scraping, sanding and playing

with the surface to see what happens.”

This is an intuitive process, as he

pushes the paint toward the transition

from representational to conceptual.

ABOVE
Crosswalk Shadows
oil on linen, 12x19

OPPOSITE
Late Return No. 2
oil on linen, 36x36