George T. Chakos has been drawing and painting all of his life. Family legend has it that he could hold a crayon long before he could hold a fork. His passion for painting his unbounded. Nothing is beyond the scope of his paint brush. Wild Life, Portraiture, Landscapes, Flowers: he interprets all through his unique artistic lens.
In his own words. . .
I paint things that move me, the grandeur of the mountains, autumnal bursts of color, verdant forests, the provocative hues of spring.
I don't see through the impersonal lens of a camera. I filter the image through my eyes and heart. I continually, edit: I alter composition, color, shape, size, perspective and focus. I add what should be there; I eliminate the superfluous.
Perhaps--If you were to visit those people and places I have painted, you would not see exactly what I had seen. It is, after all, the artist’s prerogative to re-think reality.
An anecdote remembering the great James Whistler beautifully demonstrates the point. An observer watching the artist paint a landscape remarked, “I don't see those colors.” The artist smiled and replied, “Don't you wish you did?”
I paint to create that which is ideal. I invite you to see through my eyes. I want you to see what I see.
I hope you enjoy these images every bit as much as I loved painting them.