ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES - ALBERT SWAYHOOVER

For 35 years, the paintings of Albert Swayhoover have been evoking delighted responses from critics and collectors across America. Combining superb technic with a unique textural imagery, he captures the total experience of nature.

Swayhoover is, first and foremost, a consummate master of the painting knife. Forsaking the traditional brushes, and using only a series of knives, he deftly breathes life into delicate beach grasses as well as fierce storm clouds. His artistic expertise extends to the beautifully structured composition of his work, subtle shifts of color and the modulating of impastos create an immediate environmental experience that is rare on canvas.

"Using knives", Swayhoover says, "I can achieve painterly surfaces without fussiness of brush strokes. Colors stay vibrant and shapes stay crisp. Fine lines are easily achieved by using quick strokes with the edge of a painting knife. These tools give sharpness, exuberance and freedom to my work."

"I love the sounds and sights of boat yards, marsh grass blowing in the wind, old weathered buildings and rocky shores. All of these give me great pleasure and inspiration for my work. My idea of a perfect afternoon is to sit on a dock sketching a harbor scene or to follow a stone wall and discover a wonderful old barn on a snowy hillside."

Albert Swayhoover was born in New York City. He studied art at New York College at Farmingdale and at the School of Visual Art, dividing his time between painting and a successful career in advertising. The demand for his canvases increased steadily and, in 1966, he left advertising to devote himself totally to painting. He is the recipient of over 20 awards, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Award given by the Salmagundi Club. He has had many successful one-man shows in leading galleries in the New York, Boston, Washington D. C. and Philadelphia areas. His paintings are presently being shown in these and other galleries in North Carolina and Florida. Some of his works hang in important private collections as well as the corporate collections of IBM, Chase Manhattan, CBS, HR Grace and others. He is a member of American Society of Marine Artists.