Bruce Katz – taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary

I am incredibly pleased to introduce you to the work of Bruce Katz.

Bruce is a friend of mine who lives in San Francisco, and I have been a big fan of his artistic vision and painting styles ever since I first laid eyes on his work.

Bruce writes:

I am a Bay Area artist utilizing the subject matter of landscape, cityscape, figure, and still-life to develop paintings that convey the drama and beauty I find around me. I’m particularly inspired by how light and shadow, touching upon ordinary scenes and objects transforms and infuses them with energy and feeling. I use the medium of paint in seeking to communicate these qualities. I am also passionate about travel and find much inspiration for my artwork on my trips. 

I work out of my studio at Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco as well as outdoors, “en plein air”. I exhibit my artwork at various galleries throughout the area. I also teach privately both studio and plein air painting.

I am so enamored with Bruce’s work that
I have invested in one of his paintings.

For me this painting (featured above), captures many things on so many different levels… art history, the museum experience, my love for art, and writing about paintings that fascinate me… but mostly crystalizing the “act” of really seeing and appreciating a work of art.

My Bruce Katz painting hangs in my office in a special place
where I can see it throughout my day and be inspired by it.

Beauty is all around us if we take the time to really look.

In my novels, I write about the artistic process quite a bit… In my first (Dreaming Sophia), I talk about artists evolving and learning from one another and moving art forward in new and fresh directions. In my second (Waking Isabella), I speak to the idea that no one can determine beauty for another person… but more importantly if one really looks, they will find beauty all around them—even in inconsequential things like graffiti, the light filtering through leaves, or colorful books stacked on a desk.

But one message rings true in all my novels: an artist can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.

“An artist can take the most mundane object and see great possibilities where others only see ugliness. Beauty abounds in many things. Uncovering and capturing it, ah! That is a gift only a few have.”

Dreaming sophia

Bruce is a shining example of this

Bruce is a shining example of this, and this is why I’m drawn to his work. No matter what his subject, be it a peanut butter sandwich, people walking across a busy street, or a solitary chair… he turns the most ordinary object or scene into a complete “hero” and renders them extraordinarily using exciting angles, dramatic shadows, and lush color.

But, it is the act of isolating a moment, a view and immortalizing it, and making it sing with new meaning that I find particularly attractive about Bruce’s work.

Bravo Bruce! I look forward to your next painting and what you will focus on and bring to life next!