Dennis Schmalstig

I am influenced by old master's such as Rembrandt, Chardin and Brueghel for the richness of their technique and for the depth of emotion that they invested into their work. I am attracted to R. Crumb's fearless use of inappropriate subject matter, and the forthright oddity of Stanley Spencer's religious pictures.

Seymour Rossofski, Robert Yarber and Ed Paschke are on my short list of favorite contemporary American painters because of their deadpan humor and their ability to find the absurd lurking within the mundane.

My recent paintings reflect some of these influences, but their true genesis came about when I decided to make paintings that made me laugh. It hit me one day that it would be very amusing to make narrative pictures using unexpected 'heroes' such as mechanics, retirees, middle-aged suburban couples and household pets.

I decided to make pictures using Renaissance devices and conventions to depict the humorous, annoying and absurd. I enjoyed the idea of dishonoring the traditions of western art by using a fairly traditional style of painting to portray tales of cheap passion and shallow ambitions. Wicked glee can be a fruitful source of inspiration.

These pictures are autobiographical in the sense that my personal life often resembles a series of pratfalls. Humor helps me to salve my wounds and to continue to find new misadventures.