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Greg has lived in the
Blue Ridge Mountains since the age of twelve. He attended Virginia
Tech and studied Architecture and Graphic Arts. As an
extracurricular activity he worked on the University Newspaper, writing
an editorial column, designing a comic strip and providing illustrations
for many of the articles. During the summers he made
money doing pen and inks of local homes. After graduation he
worked as a graphic artist and photographer for an architectural firm.
He changed jobs several times as he was developing his
painting skills. In his painting he moved from moody figure
studies to landscape painting in watercolor and oil. He enjoyed
the spare time work much more than the job s and made the leap to full time
art making 1987. His work are found in many corporate and private
collection across the US. |
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“Perhaps the most promising artistic talent in the
valley”
Larry
Horrowitz 1995
To observe
Osterhaus interacting with his canvas, one would assume that painting
was his birthright. Effortlessly, instinctively, he applies shapes and
color in elusive brushstrokes that first appear insignificant, but
quickly take on meaning as the work evolves. The composition: most
often the pastoral countryside’s of Virginia under a shroud of
unorthodox color, echoing simplicity and placidness found in our natural
surroundings.
From moody to
brilliant, Greg’s use of color affords him unlimited freedom to create
on his canvas a world beyond, one seemingly untouched. Impressionistic
in style, his landscapes invite the viewer in, but allow each one to
draw his own conclusion.
“Paintings are as
much about the paint as they are about the subject matter,” explains the
artist. Rather than seeing a photograph, Osterhaus would like the
viewer to “connect” with the painting, to share in a visual language
embracing the underlying emotions experienced as he orchestrated each
piece.
Encouraged by his
parents at an early age, Greg has always had a passion for art. His
innate abilities combined with his technical training at VA TECH were
the foundation for his career. Building on that foundation, Greg has
gleaned from various masters, including John Singer Sargeant, Twachtman,
and Wolf Kahn, but remains true to his own vision. The important thing,
the artists believes, is to constantly relearn and reinterpret, keeping
in mind that there is no set formula, no safe
path.
–Helen Bryan
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The rural south is
depicted eloquently and passionately in the oil paintings of Greg
Osterhaus. With poetic application of color and careful understanding
of light, his serene vistas are reminiscent of predecessors such as
Robert Vonnoh, John Twachtman and Wolf Kahn. Constant interpretation and
re-evaluation are evident in his carried vocabulary of brush stroke,
color and theme and in an innate ability to capture moments unique to
his vision. Currently living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia
with his wife and family, Osterhaus continues his love affair with
painting.
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