Page 31 - The Hunt - Spring/Summer 2023
P. 31
show at Somerville Manning Gallery and the outfitting of the sculpture garden. Like most creative people, he has a philosophy to his art. “Sculpture is the real thing—you can see it in
the round,” he says, pointing to a nearby fox, an animal he frequently recreates. “On the other hand, painting is more an expression of the spirit. It comes from here,” he says, pointing the fingers of each hand to the sides of his head. “There’s more freedom in painting than in sculpting.”
Paintings, of course, are not three- dimensional, and Bright does his nature and landscape paintings en plein air, taking his canvases and brushes with him out into the field. He disdains reliance on photos as direct sources, although he might use one “as an aid to memory.”
He points to a work in progress on an easel—a crow on a fence post with meadows in the background. “I’m getting away from opaque painting and getting into a more translucent feeling,” he says.
continued on page 124
