Gnarled Tree,
Outside Porterville
Robert Winter, 2003 

Acrylic on Sheet Canvas
16" x 20"

Giclee Print:   $350
On Sheet Canvas, Unframed

Framed Original:  Not currently for sale

Artist's Notes

Someone once commented after seeing this and a few other paintings in a similar style that if Seurat did pointillism, what I was doing should be called "splotchillism." I considered the point well taken. 

There’s something that the Impressionists pioneered that I’ve always wanted to take further.  It involves shattering the simplistic outline-and-fill-in approach, releasing what I’ve envisioned as “shimmering globules of color.” 

At the time I crystallized that phrase—many years ago, when I was first struggling to teach myself to paint—I had recently seen a lot of work with interesting effects of light, as well as one contemporary abstract painter who used clear and translucent acrylic gel to give his paintings fascinating built-up surface textures.

I did one early experiment where I was convinced I had achieved what I was looking for.  I mixed my colors with copious amounts of transparent acrylic gel, then applied it in textured globs that gave the effect of softened and semi-squished translucent marbles (or cough drops, or whatever)

My sense of triumph was short-lived.  As things dried, the pigment for some reason coagulated into shriveled little clumps that looked more like boogers.

I realized at that point that achieving the effect I was looking for was probably going to involve more than a simple approach to mixing and applying paint.  It’s more of a long-term goal for me now, which I inch toward as I see opportunities in the specific subjects I’m depicting. 

This scene was one of them.  What attracted me most was not any specific object in the landscape, but the pleasing way the light was broken up.  The gnarled lines of the tree’s limbs provided a nice contrast to the globules of color, as well as a way of linking them into a more coherent whole.

 

© COPYRIGHT 2003 ROBERT WINTER.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.