Autumn Grouping
Oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Framed, $6650
Exhibiting: Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
 
About this oil:
I started this oil as a grouping of trees with no literal reference, giving myself the freedom to experiment and let go. And go it did. Hidden in the layers are a number of different tree, meadow and sky combinations that came and went along the way.
 
The painting spent a few months in the studio before shapes slowly began to settle. Looking back, it’s a bit comical how some of the trees would claim a spot on the canvas and give it up only grudgingly, and only a little. Other shapes came and went, while a few found a comfortable spot and color and stayed put.
 
I didn’t see it at the time, but it was like old friends gathering between the yellow hill and the meadow, simply enjoying each other’s company. Some of them have unusual shapes, yet each one seems to have its own personality.
 
The light isn’t handled accurately, and that’s intentional. I altered it to support the composition, a liberty artists have taken for hundreds of years. The shadows did what they wanted, too, and turned a warm red instead of a cool hue. This painting is unlike any of my other landscapes, and the result is a group of trees in an interesting and ongoing conversation.
 
Back to those shadows: it was satisfying to be a small-time renegade.