TM8407 Red Fall 36×40 oil on panel

Autumn and ponds have been painted many times. The Hudson River painters loved the golden atmosphere of autumn, while George Inness went a step further and painted both his love of atmosphere and place, and found a way to reveal the abstract underpinnings of landscape composition.

For me, landscape painting is about the environment and, specifically, a complex sense of space and place.  It is the duality of particular facts with their sensual effect, and the illusive abstractness of three-dimensional landscape inhabiting a two-dimensional surface that keeps drawing me back.

There are a number of spaces in the painting Red Fall – the air above the pond, the surface of the pond with its golden, floating vegetative matter, the deep, implied space of the reflection under the water, and the slightly holographic illusion of the leaves floating into and in front of the painting.  I wanted to emphasize the way the leaves on the pond’s surface seemed to hover between me and the painting, while at the same time they cast slight shadows on the surface prior to sinking. Specificity is important. It grounds us.  The confluence of real facts and abstract perception can be thrilling. Enjoy!

TM8407 Red Fall – detail of newly fallen leaves