Blazing Blooms unveiled...

About "Blazing Blooms"...

If you find yourself on Atlantic Street at the corner of Main, you might find yourself immersed in the newest Stamford Downtown permanent outdoor art display, “Blazing Blooms” by Scott Glaser.  

It hangs, on the southern facing wall of First County Bank on Atlantic Street, aside the parking lot ramp to the Stamford Town Center measuring 31 feet by 41 feet.   Glaser was chosen, back in 2011 from a list of local artists to complete a massive piece of art that would engage the community with the downtown. Glaser’s subject is a lush world of plants and greenery, sitting amidst the concrete jungle. The painting tricks the eye (trompe l’oeil) and creates the optical illusion of the painting being three dimensional. The style for the “Blazing Blooms” painting is ‘Surrealism meets Realism,’ explains Glaser.

Although the piece looks like an enlarged photograph, the final “sketch” was created by composing Glaser's reference photos for the background image along with his own photography of the gloved hand holding the watering can; the flowers in the foreground, begonias and kalanchoes; window box and window pane. Once configured, the design was gridded and printed out in large sections to be used as reference guides for painting. The painting was done using the grid system, whereby one square at a time is recreated in paint on the canvas.

The paints used were acrylics applied to a gessoed, muslin substrate stretched on a wooden frame. The composition and the act of painting this six foot by eight foot acrylic piece took approximately 1, 250 hours totally eight months.

The large size of the canvas required that the painting be scanned in sixteen separate pieces, then pieced together like a puzzle in a computer and made ready for the printer. Donald Sigovich, a fine art printing and scanning service in Westport, spent two weeks assembling, color correcting, and proofing the final four gigabyte file in order to achieve the most faithful interpretation of the original. Once completed, this file was given to the large format printer to create the finished 31 foot x 41 foot mural.

Special thanks to Marion Glowka, Stamford Downtown Streetscape Coordinator, who acted as floral advisor, hand model and stylist for the photo shoot and to Sam Bridge Nursery, located in Greenwich, as the finest resource for the flower research.

Stop by and take a look!

ARTIST BIO

Scott Glaser

  

Scott Glaser was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1953. His love of art started in sixth grade when he was awarded the ”commission” of creating a mural for the end-of-year class play.

Although his career path led him to the world of graphic design and advertising, his heart has followed the world of contemporary art. And, after 30 years as a commercial artist, at 60, he has emerged as a serious fine artist with a unique visual interpretation of the world he sees.

Scott has been commissioned by private collectors and major corporations. Corporate clients include:  Stamford Downtown Special Services District; Hyatt Hotels; China Merchants Bank; Kate Spade; Fisher Development and Perkins Eastman Architecture and Design. Private commissions have been done for collectors in New York, Boston and Palm Beach.

His painting style has been influenced by Pop Art, Representationalism, Abstract Expressionism and Photorealism. These schools of art were inspirational while studying at The School of Visual Arts in New York City in the early 70s.

Glaser’s preliminary sketches for a painting are created by combining and assembling his photographs, sketches and doodles, created  specifically for each project. He paints using the grid system, enabling him to recreate his conceptual sketch representationally or reinterpret his subject in various styles while capturing the essence of the idea.

Scott lives and works in Westport, Connecticut with his wife Cheryl and his five dogs:

Zsa Zsa, the 11-yerar-old French bulldog; Lambchop, the 5-year-old Maltese; Buttercup,

the 3-year-old Long-haired Chihuahua; Jake, the 2-year-old Bichon Frise and Maxxx, the 2-year-old French bulldog.

Some pictures taken of the process:

Final Mural - "Blazing Blooms"