Artist's Statement
Born on the lower east side of New York City and raised on Long Island,
Mr. Lysiak has lived on a 50 acre farm in Trade, Tennessee for the past
28 years with Lynne, his wife of 35 years, Brandon, his 26 year old son,
and uncountable dogs and cats. He has raised cattle, goats, hogs, chickens,
and, regrettably, geese. Their house is bounded to the east by Snake Mountain
and to the west by a wooded ridge rising several hundred feet above the
holler. They share the land and air with the deer, hawks, wild turkey,
skunks, possums, ferrets, owls and foxes that roam the place day and night.
He has built additions on their 80 year old farmhouse himself, wired it,
plumbed it, built sheds and repaired fences, doctored livestock, loaded
hay and tobacco with friends and neighbors, been selected Johnson County
Conservation Farmer of the Year in 1990, cut trees for firewood, cursed
at tractors, trucks, and equipment that wouldn't start. He holds a Ph.
D. in Middle English Language and Literature and has taught medieval literature
and linguistics in the English Department at Appalachian State University
since 1973.
He has been painting in watercolor for over 15 years. His work reflects
his personal experiences and range of interests. The variety of Appalachian
life, whether human, natural, or mechanical, is sometimes rough, sometimes
lovely but always vibrant in a natural landscape of superlative beauty.
Transparent watercolor is an ideal medium for capturing the brilliant effects
of light and color available here. While he enjoys using transparent watercolor
pigment, he has begun applying it in other than traditional loose washes.
A colorist, he chooses to apply pure, clean color with little dilution,
thereby managing more effective control of paint and drying times. He employs
few white passages which tend to restrict surrounding areas to diluted
tints. Extreme value differences are kept to a minimum in order to emphasize
color and intensity contrasts. Form is also simplified as color variation
is increased in order to maintain focus on the essential subject matter.
The use of transparent pigment in this manner still allows light to reflect
off the white paper, maintaining the luminous quality of watercolor but
allowing richer, deeper color at the same time.
His successful group and solo shows, popular workshops and demonstrations
have earned him regional acclaim. Recent awards include Honorable Mention
(1998) for "Truck," at the Virginia Highlands Art Show, Abingdon, VA; Best
in Show (1999) for "Choppin' Weeds," at the Appalachian Art Show, Kingsport,
TN; Award of Merit (1999) for "Twilight Tractor" at the Virginia Highlands
Art Show; Award of Excellence (2000) for "The Color of Money" at the Appalachian
Art Show; Award of Distinction (2000) for "Summer Maple" at the Virginia
Highlands Art Show; Second Place Award (2001) for "Retired" at the Appalachian
Art Show; Award of Merit (2001) for "Enraged" at the Virginia Highlands
Art Show; Honorable Mention (2001) for "Trio" at the High Country Watermedia
Show. He has been featured in
Watermedia Focus Workbook, April,
2001. Recent solo exhibitions include "Country People, Country Places"
(1999) in the Arts Depot Spotlight Gallery, Abingdon, VA; "All Things Appalachian"
(1999) at the Appalachian Cultural Museum, Boone, NC; "Recent Watercolors"
(2000) at the Kingsport Renaissance Center; the Ridgefields Country Club,
Kingsport (2001), the Artists Palate in Blowing Rock, NC (2001); the Arts
Depot Members Gallery (2001); Wilkes Art Gallery, Wilkesboro, NC (upcoming,
2002). He has conducted highly successful workshops for the Kingsport (TN)
Arts Guild; The Arts Depot in Abingdon (VA); Cheap Joe's, Boone (NC) for
the High Country Watermedia Association. His work is represented in private
and corporate collections nationwide.
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