I'm an oil painter based in Chicago. When I'm not painting, I work, also creatively, as a designer and programmer.

Although I do several different types of paintings, the series featured on this website is called "Bubbles & Blurs". This style combines my interest in the art of several different eras and the techniques and imagery associated with each. Early cubism is an influence, as is some of  the work of the post-impressionist era, but I also admire more contemporary artists like David Hockney. My work reflects the influence of some of his own fractured-image pieces. 

Where I differ from these artists is in style and choice of subject matter, which has more to do with my interest in the Italian Renaissance. The pieces I call "blurs" are an extension of the "bubble" works. Instead of breaking the image into circles, I paint some areas very precisely and apply a painterly obscuring, or blurring, to other parts. The aim in making this work is to create paintings that feel modern but incorporate aspects of art from much earlier eras.

Photo of James Parenti by Doug Birkenheuer