Painting

Bio/Artist Statement:
For me, "landscape" is a peaceful concept, thus much of the line I use is rolling, undulating line, the restful curve, the mildly exhilarating swoop. After all, I was born among (and lived most of my life among) the rolling hills of Northern California. Being a third generation Northern Californian, the area's landscape speaks powerfully to me, and I hope, through me.

My landscapes may start with a generally realistic sketch, but once work in the studio begins, painting takes precedent over scene, emotional response over strictly visual response.  My paintings are more about something than they are of it.  The push of color to extremes, and the use of line to imply motion help me show what I feel about a scene or abstract idea

I tend to lean toward warm colors (lots of ochre, yellows, oranges), colors inspired by a lifetime of seeing California summer grasses.  While these warm colors are restful to me, by increasing the intensity of hue and through the juxtapositioning of complements, I use color to add vigor in my paintings.  I want the land to be alive. I want the butterfly to fly, not to be pinned to a board.

Website: http://garycolemanartist.com