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Paul Mudersbach

Artist Bio Sketch: Paul Mudersbach
Paul Mudersbach:  I was given my first professional oil painting set when I was eight. My main philosophy as a young artist was to experiment with paint, and draw all the time. I received my first commission to produce 11 paintings for an office building when I was 14 years old.  I was overjoyed and petrified at the same time.

As a young boy I traveled the back roads of Arizona with my father, giving me a taste for the old west that seems to have lasted through the years. It is no wonder that my artwork centers around western landscapes, wildlife and the Southwestern culture.

Above Right:: "Baby Elf Owl's First Peak" (24"x48") Oil on Canvas: Paul touches up the bushy down on the baby Elf Owl's head where it peaks out of the Saguaro cactus nest.

My desire to express myself through art seems at times to be an obsession... always planning a drawing, painting or sculpture.  I feel like I have to be drawing or painting when possible.  I can be driving down the street and find myself mentally working on aspects of the underpainting or some detail of a particular subject, or maybe doing a drawing or design layout.  I complete my paintings mentally, before I actually pick-up a brush in my studio.  Often times I will mentally paint and repaint the fine details of a subject.  I can see it as clearly as if it were real, and on the canvas.

My painting style is towards realism, but not photo realistic; most of the time I prefer the tighter studio setting rather than plein-air.  It just works best for my method of painting; where you are switching back and forth between various works. Then, sometimes plein-air painting and drawing feels just right, being loose, quick and impressionistic.  My paintings use a color pallet of "muted" earth tones with just a touch of real color.  When I see a TV cowboy riding the range wearing a spotless white shirt, it looks out-of-place.  I feel the same way about color selection in my artwork.  I want my artwork to look believable.  Except for birds and flowers, very little in life is brightly colored.

 Below Left:: "Agave Parryi... First Light of the Blue Gray Rosette" (36"x48") Oil on Canvas: Paul works late into the night on a new painting.  Every brush stroke is like a whisper... an unfinished sonnet (available early 2008).

My inspiration is often driven by the interaction of external forces in life.  Such as the way light and shadow will play against an object in the wind.  I mentally bend and twist and manipulate my ideas for a painting into an abstract composition.  This is also my first rough layout on paper.  I try to balance form against negative space.  Always looking for an edge.  Something unique about the subject that grabbed my interest in the first place.  At this point I turn my attention towards a layout that shows the specific details of my main subjects.  The who, what, when, where, why and how of the subjects goes in here.  Once I know how my subjects are going to be placed, I come-up with a light and shadow plan and then decide what to do with the background last.  Depth or no depth is the question when selecting a background.  The lighting is weighed against a background and my final layout comes into view.  Although, I just might change it before I finish the painting.

I never want to stop learning and creating.  My objective, as an artist, is to capture the reality without sensationalizing it.  In my art, I need to recreate the moment, the mood, the spirit in my minds eye and paint it.  I try to give you the essence of the moment, but keep the painting loose enough for you to interpret the moment as if it were yours.  Your moment of passion and exhilaration... of joy and fulfillment.  To be re-lived every time you see it. This is what I am...  and an artist is.  This is what I do for myself and for you.  How I share my life and my world with others through art.

Paul Mudersbach was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona.  The Mudersbach family resides in Mesa, Arizona; just west of the Superstition mountains and east of Phoenix.  Paul is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys a versatile artistic ability that has been developed from childhood and considers it "a God-given talent".  He has many areas of artistic interests, but the desert southwest and wildlife is his most intense focus. Paul's' paintings illustrate his interest in Southwest Art, Western Art of the old west, the western frontier and the Southwestern Culture; birds, flora / fauna, Spanish missions, cactii, native American Indians and landscapes.

Paul's art continues to appreciate in value as his works grow and mature in style, richness, composition, and genteel detail. Visit Mudersbach on the web to view his newest works of art at:  http://www.azsago.com , or email him using the "Contact and Email Link" on his website.

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