Brad Kunkle’s oil paintings are given the Midas touch when their surfaces are embellished with genuine gold and silver. The beauty of these paintings is that their appearances subtly change depending on the angle at which you view it or the light that’s shined upon it. Also, notice that they’re actually oil paintings and not photos.
“I knew I wouldn’t be interested in just painting realism. It just never interested me– I just never felt really inspired by it completely. I was really looking for this surreal element to the work that would make it a little off, or bizarre. I was doing decorative painting and copper leafing this whole wall for these offices and ended up finishing this whole wall with full of copper and could see Grisaille figures on it. It came from this moment of actually doing it. And of course Klimt and icon painters of the 15th and 16th century were in my head. I started to experiment with it and realized it was this missing element.
“I also love the graphic nature of it too, like it can be very flat from one angle and it can provide a lot of depth to the painting. It also changes and one big thing for me is that if it is lit properly with room light, the leaf will change and the rest of the painting will stay quiet and you kind of interact with the painting.”
Make sure to check out selected works on Brad’s website where you can alter the light. It’ll give you a whole new appreciation for each piece.