Carmel Magazine

CM Winter 2016 Issue

Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/636897

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 209 of 227

David Ligare painting is so precise that with the exception, at times, of the subject matter, it can easily be mistaken for a photo- graph. Classical figures are often transposed into Monterey County landscapes, which, Ligare explains, precludes him from being classified as a realist. "People have said, 'Dress [the subjects] in contemporary clothing,'" he shares. "My style is representation rather than realism. Realism depicts what is happening today. A lot of artists say art has to be a reflection of our own times. It doesn't." Ligare's exquisitely rendered details of Greco-Roman figures and still-lifes have earned him exhibits in major galleries and museums, from New York to California to London, Spain and Rome. The works are astounding in their rendering of detail. A white sheet riding on a breeze hov- ers over a sparkling sea, where the water pool- ing by the craggy rocks appears to be moving. An idealized male figure launches an arrow just out of the frame against a blissful backdrop of a meandering river lit by afternoon sun. A sculptured stone head rests with other objects on a table against the backdrop of the ocean. A white horse gallops past a pond next to a stone outbuilding. A glass vessel containing red wine casts a shadow and reflects the setting sun, next to a hunk of bread so realistic that the texture looks palpable. For Ligare, "the pleasure of studying" great writers drew him to the local area, starting in Big Sur back in the late 1960s. "I grew up in California, and the two people who inspired me to come up here [to Monterey County] were Robinson Jeffers and John Steinbeck," Ligare says. Ligare is the type of Renaissance man who peppers conversation by reciting poetry like "Rock and Hawk" by Jeffers, the famous poet "Still Life with Apples and Wheat (Aparchai)," 2006, oil on canvas, private collection. 208 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 6 A

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Carmel Magazine - CM Winter 2016 Issue