My name is Jan Dolejš, born 1975, I studied art at The University of West Bohemia between 1993-98. My teachers were Jiří Novák, Vladivoj Koryta and Naděžda Škardová. I finished the studies with the dissertation of an engravings cycle with animal motives. Until 2004, I taught art at a secondary grammar school in Plzeň, at present I am teaching English at the Economics Faculty of West Bohemian University. In painting I focus on landscape oils, drawings and watercolour. My first own exhibition took part in gallery Atrium in Plzeň in 2003, the second one in Strašice in 2004.
Let me attach some of my opinions and comments:
I paint all my pictures of all seasons directly outdoor, which does not exlude later small changes or corrections, but in the whole I am against painting nature in the comfort of a studio. I do believe that no speculation, however sophisticated, can replace sensual experience, that you directly perceive the light, the space, structures, the overall mood of the land and, of course, the spirit of it.
I start with a general charcoal composition sketech, which I then slightly wipe off and continue directly with oil till the end. I combine very thin layers of tint and impasto. The paint gets partly dry as the work proceeds, so it is possible to cover a colour by another. In a way, it is a combination of the old technique and a`la prima.
Divisionism, used by impressionists, is a technique which enables to create a feeling of a pulsating space, but its overusing leads to the volatility of the whole painting, which then sometimes looks even decoratively. The sky is mostly a homogeneous space. It is important to express its depth and lightness and make a counterbalance to the diversity of the grounds and vegetation below.
The sky is often the most important part of the painting, since it is the source of light, so of the colours, it is deep and creates the mood of the landscape. The elements - the wind, the light – influence the whole composition. Simle motives are often more impressive. Number of details need not necessarily mean topographical descriptivness and discompose the whole. It depends on their mutual relations or integration and the way they are painted.
If you have any comments or you just want to write me a letter, feel free to use the form in the column Contact.