Painting Through Observation - Realism vs Para-Realism

Chinese still life in progress (Marian Dioguardi c2014)

 Realistic paintings are most effective when painted from observation (NOT from photographs or digital images). Indeed that's where the pleasure and the challenge of painting realistic and image making lies.  Using observational skills to render, apply depth and install light is the path to realism. Ending at a precise observational reproduction does make a  painting realistic. But why stop there?

The paintings I paint are always pushed beyond the barrier of observation. They are completed when the subject matter is gone. The paintings are painted with the intention of how I want something to feel, not just how I want it to be seen. In the case of these Chinese still lifes, I am aiming for a visual excitation and physical stimulation that one feels on walking into a Chinese Super Market. Even if you have never walked into Mings, Supper 88 or C-Mart, should you ever, I want you to feel like you have walked into one of my paintings.

This intention results into a painting that is more intense, exaggerated and commanding. It is beyond realistic: it is para-realistic. My paintings are painted not only from observation but THROUGH observations made everyday by looking at life, color and light.