062062 http://www.AmericanArtCollector.com. a oll o. om
The extreme honesty is a family trait that
is present in the group’s music, in Scott’s
paintings and in conversation with him.
His openness reflects his conviction.
“I have faith that my personal experiences
are familiar, in some way, to all other
humans,” says Scott. “In other words, that
they connect.”
Early on he connected with the work
of Caravaggio who painted realistic and
emotional representations of the human
condition around the turn of the 17th century.
He is known primarily for his brilliant use
of chiaroscuro with dramatic light and
mysterious dark, and painting directly from
life. “Both Caravaggio and Rembrandt have
been massive infl uences. I’ve read probably
fi ve books on Caravaggio,” Scott explains.
“They aroused my curiosity about how to
render form on canvas.” He sometimes
draws on the canvas with acrylic paint but
more often starts right out painting with
oil. He recalls that Caravaggio didn’t have
preparatory drawings but went straight
to painting on the canvas. “I get off on
the contrast in his paintings,” Scott says.
“I began wondering ‘What would happen
if I mixed the darkness of chiaroscuro with
the style of Andy Warhol?’ I’m not shut o
to any artistic infl uence.”
Among his contemporaries, Eric Fischl
has been “massively infl uential,” he says.
“His interaction and affirmation have
been a shot in the arm. I’m aiming for
Eric’s fl uidity.”6
Daddy, 2016, oil on
wood, 100 x 42".
Courtesy the artist,
© 2018 Scott Avett.
Photograph by Lydia
Bittner-Baird.7
Black Mouse, White
Mouse, 2010, oil on
canvas, 106 x 65".
Courtesy the artist,
© 2019 Scott Avett.
Photograph by Lydia
Bittner-Baird.8
Julianne in Vain, 2009,
oil on canvas, 22 x 22".
Courtesy the artist,
© 2019 Scott Avett.
Photograph by Lydia
Bittner-Baird.67