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Dynamic Realism

Realism and the importance of conveying the real became increasingly important following the middle ages, its peak is considered to have culminated in the ‘high renaissance’ period.

High Renaissance artists achieved the ideal of harmony and balance comparable with the works of ancient Greece or Rome. Renaissance Classicism was a form of art that removed the extraneous detail and showed the world as it was.

Artists portrayed forms, colours and proportions, light and shade effects, spatial harmony, composition, perspective, anatomy - all handled with total control and a heightened level of accomplishment.

But are there greater levels of accomplishment to achieve? Is there a realist technique that reaches beyond ‘Renaissance Classicism’? A method of realist painting that is not lessened or duplicated by photographic or digital technologies, that provides a renewed sense of uniqueness and desired value?

‘Dynamic Realism’ – going beyond?

Combining realism and illusionism is not new. However, being able to bring movement alive within a work that also conveys a three-dimensional method of painting arguably is. It is rare to find an artist with the technical capabilities to capture all six elements attributed to ‘Dynamic Realism’ and display them in one artwork.

Observers of Abbey Walmsley’s works comment on them being ‘alive’ due to the colour, action and psychology portrayed. The technique she uses allows the paint to carry a luminosity associated with Pre-Raphaelite / Neo –Classical works rather than the flat paint and dull pallettes of most contemporary realist artists who choose similar subjects.

‘Dynamic Realism’ has been a product of 10,000+ hours of practice and mental exploration of trying to find something more, of trying to get beyond the mathematically based illusion of space (perspective). Perspective brings forth a whole new complexity when trying to portray an accurate moment of time, in conjunction with a painting technique that is always exploring boundaries of thickness, texture and accuracy.

‘Dynamic Realism’ is capable of standing out in a world of digital creation, which refocuses on what the human mind with a bare canvas and a paintbrush can achieve when challenged.  Abbey Walmsley refuses to produce works that do not conform to the standards she has established, and the bar she continues to raise. These standards are set to continually test her artistic ability and to ensure client desires are met and surpassed. She believes there are many opportunities ahead to produce exceptional dramatic works, if commissioning clients have the vision and understanding of what her technique can achieve.

Attributes of Dynamic Realism:

Abbey Walmsley’s pencil drawings also display the attributes of ‘Dynamic Realism’ , except of course for ‘colour’. The 3-dimensional painting technique is exchanged for multiple layering of pencil.

The Challenge of Translating Dynamic Realism into Prints

Abbey Walmsley Fine Art spent three years sourcing and researching to find a company that could offer a solution to the problem of producing impressive and convincing prints from an original three-dimensional artwork. Abbey Walmsley wanted to produce prints that displayed the three-dimensional aspect of an original in a way so effective that from a short distance the differentiation between an original and a print was hard to judge. We are extremely proud of the standard and quality of the prints we produce and feel we have found a method of printing that truly captures all six attributes present in original pieces of Dynamic Realism for our print collectors.