Viewer Impressions
"He applies brush strokes as if he has his hands on the Creator’s Control Panel."
A few years ago, when I saw Nathan’s art for the first time, I thought that for him, the world had exploded into infinite pieces and he was picking back up each piece, bit by bit. What I was witnessing, in over-sized canvas draped in a room completely devoted to his work, was the world reassembled by Nathan DiStefano.
He was too busy to talk to me. I had so many questions. Once, when he took a brief moment to describe a painting to me, his words didn’t make any sense. They were as fragmented as his paintings. He felt disconnected from the room. I swear that he only wanted to be inside his paintings. They were his Home.
Jump forward to 2008, when I’m afforded time to spend with him inside his studio. I’ve never seen an artist’s studio before. DiStefano's is alive with trinkets, personal totems, and pieces of inspiration in the form of writings, notes, quotes, books, sketches; and this is just on the walls. He grounds himself with plants and an empty fish aquarium that makes soothing gurgling water sounds. The couches are worn and no longer offer support, but their presence is comforting anyway. As I get to know Nathan, I see how much he is like his studio couches.
Years ago, as a young adult, the now 30 year old painter experienced a personal trauma that shattered his belief systems and reprogrammed his wiring forever. He knows lost love. Betrayal. But rather than dwell in the traditional artist’s domain of wretched pain that we know inspires some of the greatest works and writings, Nathan only has the capacity to express profound goodness.
His favored backdrop is a black background. From there, he applies brush strokes as if he has his hands on the Creator’s Control Panel. Life and ongoing creation vibrate in front of your eyes when you step back to take in one of his paintings. I learned that if I stand still long enough, the canvas moves. I'll see people where none existed two minutes before.
One day, Nathan showed me a piece on public display and suggested I lean sideways to see the angle he painted it in. Amazingly, the scene changed when my perspective did. With Nathan's art, I can add my own version of what I want to experience and see inside the painting. Nathan let’s us do this by starting the process. He paints the first layers of chaos and we add our own inside our minds. Each painting becomes a blending of him and the person viewing it.
Nathan likes to find the points where we'll meet. He's there, waiting for us.
He knows this is how life works. He knows it’s dimensional, interconnected, all present and yet, always changing. He can feel it. He can sense it. He can see and experience energy in ways most people can’t, or refuse to. Nathan isn’t afraid to express himself when he picks up his paint brush.. This is what amazes me so much. Because he won’t let go with total, utter abandonment into his own heart. There are places he can’t go because he doesn’t trust. But he can trust his paint. He has complete faith in his marks. Inside each layer upon layer of swirling, flowing colors and shapes is a story for anyone willing to stop to listen to him. However, with Nathan DiStefano’s art, you’ll never hear the entire story unless your heart and mind are wide open.
This artist tries to take you to a Place where All Of It makes sense. Where we fit. Where we belong. Where love doesn’t hurt. Where life buzzes with purpose. There’s a sense of a roller coaster ride thrill with his over-sized 9 feet wide pieces. Sometimes I can’t breathe. Sometimes I want to cry. It doesn’t take much prompting from Nathan but yet, there is no greater peace for me than being surrounded by his art. It doesn’t matter if a piece is finished or not. From the moment he begins, he’s found a way to make us look again at our universal experiences such as when the child cries or the lover moans or how we try to hide from ourselves. I can feel him teasing me. He’s saying, Life is beautiful and I belong.
Life is beautiful and we belong. -- Kim Krause Berg, Usability Consultant
Copyright 2008 All rights reserved. All content and images are the sole
property of Nathan DiStefano.
Doylestown, PA 18901. Please contact for permission
of reuse of images and content.
Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania artist
"Angle"
