BIOGRAPHY

Vincent Fitches

I Vincent Fitches was born in Salt Lake City Utah in 1979. The first time I remember winning an award for art was in second grade for a contest in the school called reflections. My mother tells me of the coloring contests I won before that. "everything I entered you in you won" she said. I continued through out elementary school and junior high winning nearly every award there was. In my junior year of high school I was selected as one of the Marie Walsh sharp foundation recipients. I was one of about twenty students chosen from more than two thousand entries nationally. This was a program that provided an intense learning atmosphere with some of the nations leading artist. One of those artists that had an impact on me was Janet Fish. It was a two week program. I went to the University of Utah to major in art. I got one of the two department scholarships for the first two years at the university. One of my most influential teachers was Paul Davis who showed me how to look at the figure. I would do three hour blind contour drawings of the model. I developed a shorthand for the human body. My first show was in the Union gallery on the University of Utah campus. Then began showing in cafes in downtown Salt Lake City. The last show I had before I left Salt Lake City was a show of collaborative work I did with a NYC artist the Jass. The show was titled I.M.O.K.R.U.O.K.. it was also sponsored by the Utah arts council. My wife, daughter (six months old) and I loaded what would fit into our Mercury sable and moved to Syracuse, NY In January 2004. Since then I had a show at the WCNY station in Liverpool, NY put on by the Cultural Resource council. I am currently showing at the Delavan gallery in downtown Syracuse. I have always been interested in mixing mediums. I start all my paintings with a solid color. Next I draw the subjects. Then I do a newspaper transfer. I cover the whole painting in a gel medium, this is used to transfer the ink from the newspaper. I put down the paper onto the wet medium and let it dry. After the gel has dried the paper can be removed easily with a little water. The image left is a reversed image of the newsprint. Then I try to paint out enough of the paper so it isnÕt recognizable. Save for maybe a date or header, anything that can date the work easily. Then I glaze the painting in oil and dry brush a few key spots.