My style is a blend of influences from artists like John Singer Sargent and Andrew Wyeth, placing what I have learned from their work in a modern and personal context. This balance of traditional and contemporary is the cornerstone of what I am doing with my painting. I see the picture as a simulated window where you are capturing a scene that can be visited whenever you like.
Sticks, oil on panel, 32 x 32" (81 x 81 cm) This painting was of my daughter Kailyn playing at around age 8 with a stick in the water. As I do in much of my work, I mixed reality with invented elements. I liked the feeling and narrative: a peaceful moment playing with nature balanced out by rushing water near a ledge.
Mandolin, oil on panel, 16 x 24" (40 x 60 cm) This self-portrait is deceptively about more than it appears. The mandolin and music have been my friend and help during times of trouble. The community it provides and the happiness I experience when playing this instrument are some of the most important things in my life at the moment. I like the element of a figure looking out of frame, giving this a sense of more than can be seen, gripping the instrument almost in a protective way.
Surface quality is very important to me and something I feel is the fingerprint and identity of a painter. I find that with anything representational, the images depicted are so complicated that in order to have a true sense of life in the work there needs to be an element of randomness to the paint handling. In order to help facilitate this complicated visual, I disturb my surface to give a sense of unpredictability to the strokes. I get this through using worn brushes, painting with non-traditional tools like combs or the handle of the paint brush as opposed to the bristles. This balance of depicting something specific while allowing randomness into the work is something I am constantly working at.
Luna, oil on panel, 24 x 24" (60 x 60 cm) This painting was done from our cat Luna sitting on our couch. I was drawn to her meditative expression and the way the light was catching her ear. The challenge to this was to capture her personality and life with such a simple pose.
Wader, oil on panel, 18 x 32" (45 x 81 cm) This piece has a figure wading in choppy waters near a cove. I think that everything in my work is metaphorical to a degree, and to me, this represents navigating challenges with calm and peace. The theme of my work for the past few years has been mixing nature with the figure and playing off the narratives that come from that.
My subject matter is almost always my family or the world around me. The more familiar I am with a person or subject I’m painting, the more life I can give the work. I live on a lake where the weather is four seasons and often with a moody blue tone, which I try to incorporate into directly my work. —
About the artist
Britt SnyderBritt Snyder is an oil painter living in Massachusetts, USA. His work balances between impressionism and realism with an emphasis on the figure. Influenced by late 1800s impressionism put into a modern context, Snyder’s artwork focuses on capturing memories and feelings on canvas. Working primarily in a figurative context, the paintings reference classical painting and photography with an emphasis on capturing and presenting moments in time and presenting the core essence of the portrayed subject.
Contact at
brittsnyder.com