"Color is the primal focus in my work. Each shade has a quality that must be explored for its own distinct beauty before being joined into a larger composition in the same way individual notes are the building blocks of a symphony. It is my responsibility as an artist to preserve what comes out of that meeting, much as a composer preserves on paper the sound of his music. It is the finding, organizing, and arranging of color that beauty, freshness, and meaning come together." The inspiration for Gaylord Soli's creations is his fascination with primitive man. He has studied anthropology extensively by traveling the world working and living among ancient cultures and lands. His themes draw to mind the cultures of Native America, Hellenic Greece, and Africa, which are reflected in his figurative and abstract works. One important goal of Soli's art and vision is to capture what is universal to man. Soli's fusion of primitive art and culture with his 21st century interests in automobile restoration, fashion design, and printmaking has resulted in artworks which contain certain "elemental" qualities derived from the direct relationship such cultures have with the natural elements... earth, air, fire, water. These influences can be seen in both the color pallet Soli chooses and the manner in which he trowels, punctuates, layers, scumbles, and scribes the surfaces of his works. (Source: Sargent's Fine Art)