Abstraction and Realism, when existing both individually and seperate from eachother, are very problematic.
Works of art that are too abstract leave the viewer confused and withdrawn. One is only able to derive meaning based on projection of the self into the piece. Because one does not understand the artists true intent, the viewer is forced to either create his/her own intent (which reduces art to subjective wallpaper) or disregard all intent and view it aestheticly (which is equal to viewing a murder only in terms of color and lighting).
Works of Realism do not deviate from that which is defined by visible light ... if a Realist views an ocean he/she paints the way that ocean appears through their eye. To only paint that which is visible, is to completely deny all information from the other senses. A painting should visually demonstrate all the senses and most importantly the mind. It should include: sounds, thoughts, laws of physics, temperatures, all particles not visible to the human eye, air currents, electricity, etc....
The painter who tries to paint the complete subject, the circuit thinker, cannot do so only in a Realist or an Abstract manner. The circuit thinker attempts to create three levels in one picture plane. The levels being: the micro (particles too small to view with the naked eye), the familiar (objects that we recognize and are able to relate to), and the macro (which includes both previous levels and is a new level which amounts to more than the sum of its parts.)
In order to keep the paintings from being completely abstract there is an element of the familiar, the figure. The figure is suspended in the pool of vast information which surrounds it (the macro). It has been reduced to symbolic shapes ... a circle for love and repetition of sound, a double circle for atomic structures, a square for progress and digital data etc ... (the micro). The familiar is suspended in the macro, and the macro is defined by the micro.
These paintings are not portriats in the traditional sense, they are paintings of ideals. This art glorifies life at its most basic and complex levels: from Ohms of electricity to the avenues of New York city. It presents respect, compassion, and tranquility.
