Piece description from the artist
At the top of a meadow at sunset on this cold late afternoon in December I came upon this scene. This contains many of my recent pictorial elements, the walls, the birches, the twilight, and that wonderful winter colored sky filled with snow showers.
In this painting I am experimenting with low light levels at late twilight. The fading color at twilight is a function of our eyes not seeing the light rays reflecting off of the objects. The color is there, we just can't see it. I am exaggerating the hue saturation to create a dream-like quality. The edges of objects soften and enhance this effect. This series of works are heavily textured with layers of paint and tool marks evident on the surface.
I call these paintings psalms in praise for the spirit that I sense in the landscape.
I have a painter friend that, when he goes out painting, says “I’m going to steal some landscape”. An ironic take on the idea of making the image your own. Have you ever heard that in some cultures there is the belief that representations or photos actually steal the soul from the subject? Sounds pretty far out there? Somewhat crazy in this modern age? Have you ever wondered where this belief comes from?
The idea that a representation of something actually contains the Spirit or Soul (at least in some degree) of the subject is wide-spread. Even to the point that some religions will not allow images of God for fear that the congregation will worship the image and not the God. Other religions encourage depictions of the Spirit or God for precisely the opposite reason, to have the viewers feel a sense of Holiness. This is what an icon is. A representation of God that is transparent enough, metaphorically speaking, that the viewer feels a sense of the Spirit in it.
Does it work? Have you ever stood in front of great religious art or architecture and felt the sense of the Spirit? Been moved by it? Have you ever been out in Nature and felt the same Spirit… That of God in Nature?
This is what I am feeling when I paint nature.
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