Vaughan GraysonCousens Bay, Kalamalka Lake, Okanagan Valley, B.C., nd
oil on panel
Collection of the Kelowna Art Gallery
Gift of David and Carolyn Grayosn, 1999
Q: Why do you think so many Canadian artists have been pre-occupied with landscape painting?
4 comments:
We talked about this at our house. One thought was that it is the one thing we all have in common. That no matter what the century, forwards or backwards in time, we are all in the landscape, on the planet. Another thought was that it was a way of recording that " i was here, for a moment in time," no matter what the century, forwards or backwards in time. The next thoughts were about existential angst, eternity, mortaltity, and we kinda got off topic.
What cc said, plus landscape offers lots of challenge, variety, and expressive potential to an artist interested in light and shade, texture, colour etc.
I believe that the essence of any place we call home is etched into our emotional and psychological beings. The Canadian landscape is vast and one of extremes - it ranges from the highest mountains to the flattest land and from desert to rainforest. This combination of a place that affects us psychologically and the visual interest of such a diverse landscape make it a perfect subject matter for art.
In order to answer this question, I think you have to delve into the question 'what is art?' I'm a landscape painter, and when I paint landscape, I'm responding to my environment, to creation, by reflecting that creation and my thoughts about it. That is my art. In Canada, and especially in BC, we are surrounded and affected in many ways by landscape, especially in the smaller towns, centers and rural areas. It gives us a lot, and we just want to share that.
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