RETURN TO THE VALLEY
ACRYLICS ON CEDAR W/RED OAK FRAME
SPRING 2022
ACRYLICS ON CEDAR W/RED OAK FRAME
SPRING 2022
Living in the Skagit Valley is a great joy. The Skagit River Valley, with the Cascades to the East and the Olympics to the west, provides a perfect stage to observe a multitude of activities. With its well-established agricultural focus, the valley also imparts a strong sense of seasonality to those who live here. Many artists are inspired to paint its beauty, and I have felt this urge on occasion as well. Art historian Shuichi Kato’s 1994 book Japan: Spirit and Form (and the television series based on it) discussed the concept of “the landscape of the mind” as opposed to a realistic painting of the actual scene. This encouraged me to focus on just the key elements of the landscape: the Cascade Mountains and its foothills, the Skagit River itself, and our seasonal bird migrations. This diamond-shaped version, commissioned by John & Carol Farnsworth, is meant to rest between the beautiful hickory kitchen cabinets just recently installed. Hopefully, it will be a welcome addition to their wonderful renovation. The frame for this painting was made out of red oak using pegged, hand-joined, mortise-and-tenon construction methods. I used the Japanese technique (shou-sugi-ban) of charring and oiling the oak to finish the frame.
DIMENSIONS: HEIGHT: 22 ½ inches
WIDTH: 22 ¼ inches
SOLD ON COMMISSION
DIMENSIONS: HEIGHT: 22 ½ inches
WIDTH: 22 ¼ inches
SOLD ON COMMISSION