Floyd Breinholt's 30th one-man art show, now on display in Brigham Young University's Secured Gallery, spotlights his continuing exploration of traditional techniques.
The free exhibit of recent paintings by Breinholt, a retired BYU faculty member, continues through Aug. 24, with gallery hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Breinholt will be honored at a reception Thursday, July 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Secured Gallery. His show also will be a part of the university's annual Education Week in August.Breinholt said he uses the old master method known as glazing in his paintings. "This indirect method makes it possible to give a feeling of light and glow to a painting that's difficult to achieve with the direct method. It gives a luminosity to the canvas.
"One of the reasons it's an interesting method is that at first you don't have to worry about color at all. You complete the painting monochromatically, and then when it's dry you glaze transparent colors over it," he said. "So in a way you separate the process into two major categories, and then you concentrate on color. This way, the whiteness comes through."
The method is best seen in the works of artists such as Rembrandt, Titian and El Greco. "But they applied it mainly to figure painting, and I apply it to landscapes," said Breinholt, who still conducts workshops on the glazing technique.
About a year ago, Breinholt made a video of his painting technique. He will have a video presentation of the process available during the exhibit. "The painting that was done in the video will also be on display," he said, adding, "I just can't get over being a teacher."
He will also display his working drawings. "The audience will recognize some of the sketches for the paintings in the exhibit," he said.
The BYU exhibit will feature many of the subjects Breinholt is known for, such as his explorations of Mount Timpanogos, one of his favorite subjects. "My type of painting is very objective and representative," he said.
He has spent much time during the seven years of his retirement in southern Utah painting the red-rock landscapes. He recently completed one large painting of the Grand Canyon, which will be a showpiece of the BYU exhibit.
Breinholt works with galleries in Sun Valley, St. George and Kanab, and has been gathering paintings from those galleries for the BYU exhibit, which will feature 25 to 30 paintings never before exhibited.