Self-expression as the highest form of universal truth 

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) initiated a whole new way of painting with pure vibrant colors that take on lives all their own. 

He was an excessively enthusiastic artist.  Most of his oeuvre was painted  over a ten-year period.  At that time, painting had become a means of freeing himself from his anguish and a way of expressing what he felt.  Symbolically heightened colors, passionate statement of form, a striving for expression all can be felt even in his brushstrokes.   

Van Gogh indeed was an idealistic student of beauty, motivated by the need to communicate the dignity of man and the inspiration of nature.  

The above painting was done with a palette knife after my study in the hidden techniques of Vincent Van Gogh.  My reference picture is the same as Jason's painting.  By a comparison of his work with mine, you can see that the possibilities in creating oil painting are endless.