I have a strange relationship with people. I am at once fascinated and repulsed. Fear and loathing with a joyful embrace. This duality in my at-
odds psyche has turned into an obsession, one which I express the only way I know how, and that is to paint. When I render the human
form, I am digging into the person, pulling out what and who they are. I want to show their insides, for better or worse. By pushing and
pulling the paint, the light and the shadow, I am laying them, and myself, bare on the canvas. It is my attempt to find the humanity, the God-
spark, in them, and in me.

There is nothing more beautiful and horrible and lofty and base as a human being, and for me, no other subject worthy of deep exploration. I
feel my soul in painting the human form, and so the flesh is always calling me.

Only oil paint will do. I fell in love with the medium, with it’s soft, sensual feel and rich intensity of color in my first college painting classes. I
paint thin, in many successive layers. This time-consuming technique gives my work a luminous quality. Because of the brief, expressive
nature of the images I am creating, I work from photographs, many taken myself and some in collaboration with local photographers.
I am often asked which painting is my favorite. The answer, the one I am doing now. The process of watching each work unfold, the
moment when the flat canvas begins to breathe, that is the fuel that drives me to keep creating.
Thank you for your interest,  
The New York Optimist
© MMIX, The New York Optimist. All Rights Reserved. The New York Optimist & www.thenewyorkoptimist.com is a registered trademark
of The New York Optimist.  The New York Optimist is a registered service mark of Thenewyorkoptimist.com. The New York Optimist logo
and original photos are a registered trademark of The New York Optimist  . All other photos are property of the advertiser. And are
rightfully protected under their copyright protections.
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Marie Vlasic
Chris
Faces Series 2008-2009
Oil on Board 36” x 36” SOLD
Caley VI
Oil on Board 24” x 24” SOLD
Self Portrait
Oil on Board 36” x 60” SOLD
Jordan II
Faces Series 2008-2009
Oil on Board 24” x 36” SOLD
Michelle
Faces Series 2008-2009
Oil on Board 36” x 36”
Candace II
Altered Series 2009-2010
Oil on Board 18” x 36” SOLD
Candace
Altered Series 2009-2010
Oil on Board 24” x 48” SOLD
Rhy
Altered Series 2009-2010
Oil on Board 24” x 48”
Angela
Altered Series 2009-2010
Oil on Board 24” x 48”
Ian
Altered Series 2009-2010
Oil on Board 24” x 48” SOLD
Candace iii
White Series 2011
Oil on Board 36” x 36” SOLD
“Brenna”
the White Series
24” x 48” Oil on Board
“Andrea”
the White Series
24” x 48” Oil on Board
SOLD
Hair
Wallflower Series 2014
Oil on Board 12” x 12”
SOLD
Red
Wallflower Series 2013
Oil on Board 12” x 12”
Cupcake
Wallflower Series 2013
Oil on Board 12” x 12”
Faces Series
Paintings Pre 2008
Michelle II
Faces Series 2008-2009
Oil on Board 36” x 36”
Altered Series
The White Series
The Wallflower
Series