January 2022 - Devin Bernard

I am an artist born in Fresno but raised in Portland.  I consider Portland my home in spite of my having lived in Costa Rica off and on for over 15 years.  Painting to me is a passion that gives meaning to my life.  It is my way of trying to explore the deepest mysteries:  what we are, how do we know and love each other, and why we even exist at all. My paintings are an expression of what it’s like to be human.  All my pictures contain representations of people because there is no “reality” without a human presence to give meaning to the universe.  These people are anonymous since I’m not interested in representing individuals.  They are, instead, archetypes that express philosophical ideas concerning identity, time, memory and the difficulty that we have in understanding and relating to one another.I am very concerned with providing a strict order to my compositions.  Colors, textures and form are repeated throughout to keep the eye moving around the picture and to pull the composition together.  This may seem out of date in a time when all the rules for painting have been thrown out the window, but I believe it provides the viewer with a sense of fullness and satisfaction.  I can only hope that those who view my paintings can feel some of the sense of wonder and passion for inquiry that I feel while making them.