Tag: landscape

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Appreciation of Landscape

A great deal has been written about why humans are so moved by the site of landscape.  In my recent immersion into landscape painting I have looked more seriously at the potential reasons for this.  I have begun reading such authors as Jay Appleton, who wrote The Experience of Landscape.  Appleton is known for the “prospect- refuge theory” which describes an evolutionary response to landscape.  Prospect defines our desire to perceive large expanses.  Refuge refers to our need for security and comfort. I am just beginning to read the text more completely, but I have to say that my initial response to this theory is that it is too simplistic.

This is a recent sketchbook drawing, in preparation for a painting. I am combining an appreciation of landscape with a decisive approach to color and form.  There is a relationship to art that I think can inform our appreciation of landscape beyond pure evolutionary concerns, but without descending  into mysticism.

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More Progress

Remember that painting I blogged about a week or so ago? If not, view it here.

The piece continues to evolve, and I continue to document the changes I am making. The palette has now shifted a bit. I think it is almost done now, I don’t expect to do any radical changes at this point. It is interesting to look back at where it has been. These two versions were done in the last three days, the bottom image is the most recent state of the work. I think things are falling into place.

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Studio Notes

When I really break down the main factors to my decision making, the basic components of my work are in two categories:

subject: landscape
design (as theme): color, composition, complexity, contrast

It is so simple really. My reasons for being interested in these things are complex, but the paintings themselves are not. I like it that way. There are many kinds of artists in the world and there are many ways one can express their ideas. For the highly complex stuff, I choose words. In art, I want the simple pleasure of a visual experience.

Image: Sketchbook 57, crayon on paper, 5″ x 7″