As a painter, landscapes and skyscapes have been my constant subjects of curiosity and passion. Every painting is done with the intention of sharing my love of the natural world, in all its glorious manifestations, energy, occasional terror and sublimeness. We paint to ask, “Isn’t this something? Did you see this sky…. that storm, that sunrise?”
Landscape painters feel an unspoken spiritual connection to the natural world — a deep reverence and awareness of the powerful forces of land, water and the atmosphere. I walk a fine line between total reverence to reality and the need to add something personal to each image I paint. A great American artist once said, “It’s not the subject, it’s the treatment.” Another one said, “Don’t copy nature, translate it.”
For me, a painting begins with an encounter with nature, either directly or from afar. A fleeting skyscape can be the original inspiration, or deep late-afternoon shadows across a landscape. If I’m sufficiently impressed, a painting will evolve over time, or it can be fast-tracked. Every artistic inspiration is different. They all have their moments.
Here in St. Louis, and in the greater Midwest, the titanic forces of the atmosphere play out like choreographed madness — the poetry of the Heavens. We also have four distinct seasons, so that provides a wealth of landmass colors and atmospheric personalities. It is the painter’s job to share their unique vision, to pull you in so you can disappear into our “translations of the natural world.”
Accuracy is important when painting a specific location, landmark, or atmospheric effect. Personalizing that image is just as important. If we don’t take that seriously, we’re just copying nature.
