© Dennis Dean

Using alcohol ink as a painting medium is not only exciting but very stimulating to my creativity. The flow of the ink mixed with the alcohol creates marvelous effects that tease the painter. One drop of ink is never the same as another. The colors are bright and wake up the senses. What you can accomplish with these colors and the flow of alcohol and ink make a joyful pleasure to the eye and senses. The feeling of a completed piece is true elation.

I am of Polish descent from Krakow, Poland, in which resides a vast contemporary art community. This community has been a significant influence on my works in both color and impact. Prior to this, I had inspiration from art classes and art projects in elementary and high school. Here, I learned about the basics of drawing and painting and I furthered this knowledge in college where I took specific courses in painting in oils, acrylics and egg tempura. The latter, an influence from one of my heroes, Michelangelo. During these college years, I was preparing for my other love, Medicine.

During my medical training, I had my head in my books most of the time and found little time to spend in the fine arts other than occasional gallery visits. One visit to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City stands out as another influence on my art today and that was the amazing work of Frank Stella.

Once working in the Public Health System in New York City as a Chief Medical Officer, I had a little more time to pursue my art and I took classes at Parsons School of Design and at the Ninety Second Street Y. Proudly during this time I had a one man show of my art in an Upper East Side venue that received generous accolades.

I retired from the public health system and moved to Fort Lauderdale eight years ago. Subsequently, I worked as a physician consultant traveling worldwide to help assure the quality of care delivered to patients. During these visits, I saw many fascinating things and found that worldwide we all want peace, health and love. I hope that my current works reflect this to the viewer.

With the pandemic upon us, I’m resigned from the consultancy and decided to take on painting full time. A friend and peer introduced me to the medium of alcohol inks. The rest, as they say, is history. I hope that you, the viewer, might feel some emotional well being and brightness in these works during the current difficult time.

~ Joseph Skarzynski