"As so many others, I started my art career as illustrator. Working exclusively in oils, rather than other faster and easier mediums and techniques, I attribute my rapid success as a fine art painter to the particular challenges which commercial work presented, with its tremendous technical demands and requirements, and its insistence on communicating directly with the viewer. I consciously used these challenges to gain command of how to use oils, always with the goal in mind of parlaying this technical acumen into the painting of fine art." — GP

"Of special interest to me is the Painting Art scene which took place from the mid-nineteenth century to the beginning of the last one. I am thinking of painters such as Alma-Tadema, Bonnat, Carolus-Duran, Lord Leighton, Gérôme, Bougeureau, Sargent, Fortuny, Waterhouse, Cabanel, and many others who were part of it. It is unfortunate that this group has been somewhat overlooked by critics and historians in favor of the Impressionist movement. But one thing for certain about the artists named above: in the technique of drawing and painting they were second to none. I consider myself within their tradition, and like they did, I strive to achieve a balance between line, color and texture, in that order of importance." — GP

◄ 'Job' (1880) Oil on canvas, 161 x 128.9 cm - 63 3/8 x 50 3/4 in. Musée Bonnat, Bayonne, France.

"Though I paint realistically, I respect all forms of painting. I deeply believe that that realism can and must take advantage of all the other isms in art. Representational painting benefits from any advances made in non-representational manners of expression. From all painters from the turn of the last century, the one recalls most recently my attention is Gustav Klimt, because of his masterly eclecticism. Klimt's art achieved both individuality and extreme elegance by blending representational figures, main focus of his paintings, with abstract compositions that preceded Kandinsky's abstraction in the time. Abstract compositions that remind me so much of the abstract mosaics by architect Jujol in the Park Güell, and which give Klimt's paintings a very familiar look to me." — GP

◄ 'The Kiss' (1907-08) Tempera on panel, 180 x 180 cm - 71 x 71 in. Austrian Gallery, Vienna, Austria.

"Difficulty of making realistic paintings is that they are absolutely transparent to the viewer and any small mistake in the execution is easily detectable. Thus, when they involve human figure, my favorite subject and the most difficult challenge that painting has to offer, the road to success becomes very demanding. The human figure is the acme of painting art and a must for any artist willing to face the most - a 'must' that is if he wants to make progress in his technique." — GP

◄ 'Art Critic' — Norman Rockwell, The Saturday Evening Post, April 16, 1955 (cover). Oil on canvas.

"The line, or drawing, is the main pillar that supports all my pictorial work. This is its 'architecture' or composition if you will. I like to use strong, almost primary colors, but I do not intend that they dominate the picture, as too often happens in contemporary figurative painting. I love the addition of very thick impastos whenever possible, but only when possible, otherwise they become a cheap trick used to fool the public into thinking a picture is important. Too much paint in fact can cheat one of the most important qualities of oils: its transparency. The old masters added thin layers of transparent oil colors to give the illusion of depth and light. I work in this wonderful, though time-consuming manner, which is rarely used in today's market. And I use to make my paintings on panel instead of canvas. Painting on panel has a long a venerable tradition, much older than painting on canvas. Panel allows me to make more preliminary work and always look flat and stiff, instead of canvas that must be strengthened regularly." — GP

◄ 'Fiesole Altarpiece' — Fra Angelico (1428-1430) Tempera on wood, 212 x 237 cm - 83 3/8 x 93 1/4 in. Chiesa di San Domenico, Bologna, Italy.

"I am studio painter. My paintings are too laborious to be executed en plein aire. Natural light changes very quickly and it is impossible to work on the same painting for a sustained period of time. There is an added benefit: by working in my studio, I free my imagination and I allow my personal impressions and memories to suffuse, and this way idealize the subject matter. This is particularly so in my paintings of Urban Landscapes." — GP

"The smaller shops that I loved to paint are a counterpoint to contemporary buildings that are anything but human in scale. Around these shops there is a kind of modern 'agora' where people can meet and socialize. In my painting of facades, I wanted the viewer to be able to (almost) get inside. I especially loved those old shops with their many layers of paint overlapping one another like a charming old lady who puts on too much make up to disguise the fact that she has seen better days. The thickness of the paint lends a smoothness and warmth to the cold feeling of the hard metal, and softens the sharpness of the wooden borders. No matter if it is a bakery or a human soul, the effects of time are always the same." — GP

'The Stonemason's Yard' — Canaletto (1726-1730) Oil on canvas, 124 x 163 cm - 48 3/4 x 64 1/8 in. National Gallery, London, UK.

"When I first visited Minorca, in the Balearics, I could not resist the temptation to make a series of paintings based on its architectural details. These 'minimalist' figurative paintings have won praise for their clarity of light and simplicity of composition. Binibeca is the name of the town in Minorca where I have done most of my sketching. Its wavy and odd shapes remind me of those of Gaudi's architecture, except that they are simpler and whiter. The curves of Binibeca's architectural elements lend a movement to the composition that I find very interesting." — GP

"My paintings are in a pure realistic style, not hyper-realistic, and the imitation of reality is only apparent. This is where the true magic in painting is to be found for me. Realism turns into Impressionism when seen very close, the same way as Impressionism looks Realism if seen from enough distance. Hyper-realistic paintings do not change significantly based on how close or how far the viewer is, and are always perceived as photorealist." — GP