ARTIST Mutlu Ertac

Mutlu Ertac is a Turkish – American Artist known for his still life paintings of flowers, fruits, and everyday objects. He was born in 1961 in Turkey and moved to the USA in 1991. He studied painting with Vincent Farrell, a very well known Plein-air artist, for four years in his Laguna Beach studio.

Distinctive, broad strokes of colors on canvas serve as his signature style. His colors are harmoniously arranged, seeking simplicity and pure shimmering of light and color in all of his paintings. His work reflects his development in the art from traditional paintings toward contemporary works.

In the beginning of his art career as a young artist, he revered Salvador Dalí so much that for the next year or so, he started making copies of Dali’s paintings. He also studied Monet, Van Gogh and continued painting and learning from their art.

At present, he is moving from a representational and impressionistic style of painting to his own contemporary style of painting. He uses broad, vivid colors and sudden large brush strokes to create an image that is spontaneous, but very well thought out, before applying on Canvas.
He is a colorist, working in exaggerated colors, and using dynamic but carefully controlled color relationships.
He approaches the painting as color first, feelings that are expressed second, and later the composition.