Land
—
Scape
Over the past few months, I’ve been painting a selection of small landscapes. Initially, these pieces are painted en plein air and then either re-worked in the studio or left as they are in their particularly raw and revealing state; this revealing state is exactly my intention with these pieces.
For a landscape, I believe there are two necessary aspects to consider: the structure of the land and how it is scaped; how it curves, elevates, lies down low, or whether it mingles with the sky or dominates it.
The ‘scaping’ part of the painting comes down to the artist and how he approaches the subject. The landscape is scaped by the way the subject is seen and then interpreted with the brush and the particular marks that he/she places down. Further, how the form is felt as a dimension determines the illusory qualities of the landscape. This is what I have been exploring.
During the time spent out in the open air, amongst nature and all of the aspects that come with it, I have allowed my eyes to absorb as much as what is before me as I have used to brush.
Each decision is exemplified by a distinct mark, an attempt to record what it is that is seen and felt in that immediate moment. I do believe the looser, rawer the recording is, the more it reveals about the underlying process and decision making. In this case, that is what I hope these studies reveal.
Below, I have attached a few examples of some of my recent work. All pieces are oil on linen. Sizes are noted for individual pieces.
Above: Dry Landscape, my first plein air landscape.
As always, if you have any questions or queries, feel free to contact me. Prints will also be soon made available of the paintings below and other studies.
Thanks for reading!
Tom.
His Empty Space 