Landscape painting enables me to combine my love of the outdoors with my need to make art. My work is representational, illustrative; but I choose not to capture a precise likeness or rendering. Instead, I respond to an idea inspired by what I see and how it appears to me. I compose the elements of the picture into the shape of the canvas, moving or adjusting them to what feels right. I use color, light, and texture to support the central idea that expresses what I am thinking and feeling. I strive to capture the whole of my experience on the canvas and share it with you.
Six years ago, my daughter introduced me to Natural Lands’ Stroud Preserve. Stroud boasts 570 acres of open fields, woods, and rolling hills a few miles from my studio in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is a beautiful place to wander and enjoy the out-of-doors. It is also convenient, quickly accessible when weather conditions or a promising sunrise or sunset seems likely to occur. Over time and with each successive visit, I began to see Stroud in motion, as it moved through the seasons in our journey round the sun.
I became captivated with the constantly changing light and color of the landscape. The soft light of morning, the brilliance of a sunny afternoon, and the warm, orange glow of sunset change with the temperature of the air. The hilly terrain and the contrast between open fields and woods all reflect the changing light differently. And then there is the Brandywine creek that meanders through the landscape with clusters of trees and thick undergrowth along its banks. I saw paintings everywhere I looked.
My experience has inspired a larger project; “A Year at Stroud.” I’ve begun the creation of a body of work that tells the story of how I see this place and why it has become so meaningful to me. I also realized that this experience is a gift from Natural Lands. It made me feel grateful to them for providing this beautiful place for all of us to experience and enjoy the beauty of our home.
It is in that spirit, I have pledged to donate 10% of the proceeds from my paintings and prints to support their important work in preserving open space for the benefit of future generations.
