Nathan Seay

Verisimilitude can communicate an idea, but it does not necessarily transcend into art. I think of significant moments of my life, and my memory doesn't provide me a literal image of a moment; rather, I experience a feeling filtered through my consciousness with no clear, crystallized imagery.

Memory privileges certain elements over others and not everything is photographic or perfectly in focus.

I seek to provide a viewer with an image not as a pristine snapshot, but an image filtered through the lens of my awareness, experiences, and my attempt to work through the limitations of my tools and technical abilities - a suspended moment of human perception.

Communicating visual ideas with clarity requires technical proficiency, so I have always sought
the best instructors. For four years, I apprenticed under Vilas Tonape, gold medalist graduate of
the prestigious Sir. J.J. School of Painting in Mumbai.

Although I learned a complete method of working from him, I wanted to be well-versed in multiple approaches.

This desire has led me around the world, studying from whoever could lead my craft forward. This includes a summer at the Repin Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, where I studied portrait and figure painting.

I’ll never forget the last conversation I had with Professor Mogilevstev before my journey home. “It’s time to stop pursuing techniques. You have them. Let your feeling and inspiration be your compass now,” he said. I strive to do just that, and use what I know to express what I observe and feel to the best of my abilities.