ARTIST’S STATEMENT FOR 2009 PENCE GALLERY EXHIBITION

Wolf Kahn said of landscape painting. “ …That it is like describing the ‘energy’ of a location.” The attempt to paint energy­­, or spirit, or a personality unique to the geography of each area is not unlike telling a story, but without words. Each environment has its own pace, rhythm and weather; the landscape may reflect light and space, or be closed off in a tangle of linear trees that absorb all light; the area may have a heavy oppressive sky that dominates the format, or be open and light. Each area is a contrast to the next, and it is endlessly challenging for the landscape painter to describe this energy.

The medium of Pastel and the method of application are unique. Without a pen, or a brush, or any other drawing tools, the pastel stick becomes the applicator and the medium. The blending, burnishing, and scumbling effects of the pastel across the surface of the paper are direct and immediate. A layer of colors blended by hand softens this medium to a delicate powder that becomes luminous and almost ethereal in a way that only Pastel paintings can achieve–Something of the imprint of the artist’s hand is left behind.

But this material is so delicate and the dust of pure ground pigments so ephemeral that it usually can only be contained behind glass. But this prohibits the viewer, as he is windowed out of close contact with the more tactile qualities of the medium. ­With nose pressed up against the glass (quite literally), a viewer misses the opportunity to experience some of the nuances of the color and texture of Pastel.        

With this in mind, I wanted to find a way to work larger and become free of the framing and glass materials, and I discovered working on raw linen as a good method for this material. For several pieces for the Pence Gallery show I have created works on linen in a larger format with no frames.

This exhibition also contains imagery from a recent trip to Italy and a previous painting trip to the desert of Death Valley. ‘Time’ is the one word that I keep returning to as I review this work. But time in the desert is in a calendar that is measured in thousand-year increments. It takes time to produce the pattern and shapes of the sculpted mountains of the desert. Or, time is measured in the minutes that pass quickly as a moving cloud overhead constantly changes with the light and energy of the landscape.

Pastel is contradiction. It is both delicate and permanent. It is similar to working with powder and yet the pigments of the earth can last for hundreds of years. Pastel, a dry medium, is excellent for describing “wet” situations such as water, clouds, or mist. But works equally well for sand, stone and earth. The medium becomes the message as one color is gently pushed across another. One veil of color barely covers another and this allows for color-nuances unlike other media. These materials are appropriate for the landscape painter as it is earth pigments that are used to describe the earth again. For these reasons, Pastel is still my favorite medium.