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JD Miller

3D Oli Painting

About the Artist

Contemporary artist JD Miller combines painterly chromatic expression with a sculptor’s physical application of paint to create multi-dimensional images on canvas. The result is an emotional explosion of sculptural oils, rich in light, form and color, which create a unique mood and signature ambiance. Traveling extensively throughout the United States, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Cayman Islands and Mexico he creates everything from expressionistic landscapes to abstract reflections of the human spirit.

His artistic inclination began at four with his first teachers being the cartoons and coloring books of Walt Disney and Walter Lance. The vivid colors and defined lines of the cartoon images formed the early basis for his visual style. When he was nine he decided he wanted to be a rock star and switched from drawing to playing music. He learned guitar, trumpet and piano, playing nightclubs when he was sixteen and becoming a studio musician at eighteen. He earned his B.S. in Communication with a double minor in Art and Music from the University of North Texas and did graduate studies in sculpture and ceramics with master sculptor John Miller at Texas Women’s University. He studied oil painting with master colorist Liz Richardson, a member of the Royal Academy of London, for two years before beginning his professional painting career in 1998. In October 2004, he founded Reflection Fine Art Gallery representing the “reflectionists”, a group of artists whose work mirrors the positive forces of life and the universe. “I call myself a reflectionist because I believe the universe mirrors each of us in a unique way. My goal as an artist is to interpret that phenomenon, and my art is a reflection of life and the way I perceive the world”.

Miller’s reputation has increased dramatically in recent years, as recognition of his oil sculpting technique has become widely acknowledged by both artists and collectors alike.

 

3-D OIL SCULPTING

Where did it come from?

3-D oil sculpting is a technique developed by JD Miller from 1996-1999 after studying the methods of master oil painters of the previous 300 years. He discovered a way of
applying oil that combined the traditional techniques of painters with those of traditional potters to create true sculptural forms on canvas.

Since the Impressionist movement of the 1860's, painters have applied oil in thick brush, or knife strokes,' called impasto. Prior to that time, paintings were created with thin layers of perfectly smooth oil with the purpose of fooling the eye into believing that what it was seeing was real. Every effort was made to conceal the brushwork in order to enhance the illusion of looking through a window onto an imaginary world. For the first time in history, the Impressionists broke out of the 2-D prison and freed themselves to put the paint on thick. By calling attention to the tactile qualities of paint they opened the world of the painter to the potential of 3-D creation.

In the 140 years since their revolution, painters have continued to push the thickness of impasto until layers of up to an inch or more of pure oil paint have been built up by laborious methods. Although effects similar to relief art have been achieved, true 3-D sculptural form has only been hinted at. For the first time, life-based organic and architectural shapes can be created in three-dimensional space using application techniques borrowed from sculptors and potters. By treating the oil more like fine porcelain clay than paint, true sculptural forms can be constructed. Instead of merely creating the impression of a flower with thick strokes of paint by following its perceived line and dimension, for the first time an actual flower can be made of oil that truly exists in the viewer's space. At that point painting makes the leap from traditional heavy
impasto to full sculptural painting... true 3-D recreation in oil of our perceived world.

How is it done?

3-D oil paintings are made using traditional master oil painting techniques. First, a
foundation is applied to a drum-tight canvas. Then layers of oil paint are applied with
knife or brush to create the intermediate painting. Next, the sculptural sections of the work are added with a palette knife and are formed with pure archival quality oil paint and gels... no fillers are used. Once a painting is completed, it is placed in a drying room for between 2 and 6 months until a thin "skin" forms on the paint surface onto which a layer of glaze is hand applied. Unlike varnish, which is designed to be removed at a later date, glaze bonds to the surface of the paint and is designed to be a permanent part of the painting, never to be removed. It forms a glossy, transparent layer that protects the paint while giving the sculpted areas the appearance of hand-blown glass. After about a year of curing, a tough outer layer forms that is extremely durable. Because oil dries through the absorption of oxygen rather than the evaporation of water, once the outside layer is formed the drying process becomes slower and slower. Oil paintings actually gain weight as they cure because of the additional oxygen molecules that are absorbed. As a result of this unique chemical process it is estimated that fully sculpted 3-D oil paintings will become completely dry after a minimum of 50 to 100 years or more.

Education:

• B. S., Magna Cum Laude - University of North Texas. 1978
  • Major Radio/TV/Film
  • Double minor Art and Music
• Graduate School, two semesters – Texas Women’s University 1979-80
  • Ceramics/Sculpture under John Miller

Gallery Representation:

• Samuel Lynne Galleries – Dallas, Texas
• Reflection Fine Art Gallery – Dallas, Texas
• Inova – Dallas, Texas
• Artworks Fine Art Gallery – Austin, Texas
• Syd Entel Galleries – Safety Harbor, Florida
• Mystique Fine Art Gallery – Scottsdale, Arizona
• Midland Gallery – Midland, Texas
• Canyon Road Contemporary Art – Santa Fe, New Mexico
  

Exhibitions

2008

• “Afternoon of Americana”, Meadows Museum SMU; Dallas
  WRR Live Performance,
• “Spring Art Exhibition”, Mystique Fine Art Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
  Two man show with Emil Cerullo
• “Envelope of Life”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas.

2007

• “Sweet Art Show”, Galleria Pierra; Dallas
• “WRR-Dallas Wind Symphony Live Performance”, Dallas Arboretum
• “3-D Oil Show”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas
  3-D oil painting group exhibition
• “Art Expo International”, Las Vegas, NV
• “Yellowstone Park Foundation”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas
  Two man show with wildlife photographer Tom Murphy
• “Miniatures II”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas
  Group miniature oil exhibition

2006

• “Tales of Costa Rica”, Syd Entel Galleries; Safety Harbor, FL
• “By a Heart String”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas
  Group exhibition
• “Visions of Tomorrow”, Gallerie D’Arte; McKinney, TX
• “Metamorphosis”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas
• “Miniatures”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas
  Group miniature oil exhibition

2005

• “Symphony of Color”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas
• “Camera to Canvas II”, Sun to Moon Gallery, Addison, TX
  Two man show with brother/photographer Scot Miller
• “Jamaican Holiday”, Gallerie D’Arte; McKinney, TX
• “Fall Fantasia”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas

2004

• “Into the Light”, Gallerie Papillon; Dallas
• “Compositions in Light”, John Patrick Fine Art; Dallas
• “Chartier & Miller”, Reflection Fine Art; Dallas
  Two person show with Cynthia Chartier

2003

• “Tropical Reflections”, Syd Entel Galleries; Safety Harbor, FL.
• “Into the Twilight”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas
• “Camera to Canvas”, Sun to Moon Gallery; Addison, TX
  Two man show with brother/photographer Scot Miller
• “Somewhere in Time”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas
• “VACD Group Exhibition”, Dallas Opera; Dallas, TX

2002

• “Heartfelt Images”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas
• “Homage to Picasso”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas

2001

• “Art Expo International”, New York, NY
• “Wildflower Explosion”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas
• “Jamaica Experience”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas

2000

• “Spring Show”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas
• “Fall Fantasy”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas

1999

• “A Universe of Color”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas
• “Two For the Road”, Florence Art Gallery; Dallas
  Two man show with Rolando Diaz
• “Angels Charity Auction”, Hard Rock Café; Dallas

1998

• “Annual Group Exhibition”, Dallas Visual Arts Coalition

1997

• “Exhibition - J. Miller”, Bishop Street Arts; Dallas
• “Wildflower Festival Group Exhibition”; Richardson Civic Center, TX

Awards

2007

• Rising Star of 2007 – Art Fashion Group International; Dallas, TX

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