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Great landscape painters

I’ve stopped to see Jane Chapin and Roger Gatewood on my way home from Sedona. They have an outstanding art collection; I contemplate it every time I visit. They’ve given me permission to share my favorite four paintings with you, which has somehow expanded to include 12 paintings by some great landscape painters. Thank you, Jane and Roger!

Bluffs of Rio Chama, 40X60, Clyde Aspevig. Your small device screen can’t capture the grandeur of this scene or its impeccable painting. Note how the foreground sage is a unifying design element.
Taos Pueblo, 16X20, Oscar Berninghaus. Nocturnes can be overwhelmingly dark, but Berninghaus exploits the hazy perception of twilight with low contrast. He went back to this subject again and again. The blue-green darkness quotes Frederic Remington’s nocturnes.
Study for Labourage Nivernais, 8X16, Rosa Bonheur. Bonheur was the most famous woman painter of her time, known for her paintings of animals. She did study after study for the final painting.
The Thaw at Mt. Rainier, 12X16, John Carlson. The simplification of form and value is lovely, as is the shape of the trees and how he allows them to break the frame. He’s one of America’s acknowledged great landscape painters for a reason.
Untitled landscape, 8X10, Len Chmiel. This is an abstraction reminiscent of Goya’s El Perro painting, or Wyeth’s Christina’s World. It’s all about that horizon line. Each of those huge shapes is composed of many hues, tightly tied in value.
Santa Fe Canyon, 24X30, Fremont Ellis. This painting is held together by the light shape of chalky green and tan in the foreground, which contrasts with the golden-yellow of the aspens.
California Colors, 12X16, Kevin Macpherson. This is maelstrom of brushwork and color. I love the negative space between the beautifully abstracted trees.
Sierra Lake, 27X34, Edgar Payne. With Payne, it’s all about the contrapuntal diagonals, big shapes and the lost-and-found edge.
Pueblo, 9X12, Sheldon Parsons. The blue in the background hills is anchored by the yellow-gold and peach in the foreground. It’s a great example of a split-complement color scheme.
Head of Golden Tears, 8X10, Carl Rungius. I love this for its loose brushwork and great color in the shadows.
Untitled, 14X20, Mian Situ. You can either have a lot of light punctuated by shadow, or a lot of shadow punctuated by light. This is another painting with great richness of hue in the shadow shapes.
Finally Home, 16X20, Jane Chapin. Jane’s two spaniels went walkabout and disappeared for weeks. This is a portrait she did when they finally returned home; it’s a narrative painting of deep affection and fabulous brushwork.

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7 Replies to “Great landscape painters”

    1. Fabulous collection! Seeing it in person is one of the highlights of my painting odyssey. My absolute favorite will always be Jane’s dogs.

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