George Inness

So, I had this thought when I started this blog that I would choose a different artist everyday rather than choosing the same artist over and over again. I felt that it would widen the breath of my exposure to players in this game we call artistry. I am finding however, that after 30 or so artists that I admire, it is becoming difficult for me to find artists that really inspire me. Don't get me wrong, there is not a lack of artists out there, it is just, who wants 20 of the same type of images reviewed. I am telling you this because it may start taking me longer to find images that I deem exciting and worth analyzing and if that be the case, I may not get to posting everyday. I only planned on spending 15-20 minutes a day on this and if it begins to exceed that, other areas of my art may start to be affected. I know, I am whining. Forget what I just said, I will just try harder.

Here is an image called "Home of the Heron". I chose this particular image for its simplicity, its mood and its color scheme. This is oil on canvas representative of Inness' later works. There is an ethereal feel to this piece. Anyone who has been in the woods in the early morning or late evening will understand the misty, foggy effect that occurs when the sun is rising or setting. This painting is damn near abstract except that there is a heron on the water at the focal point in the lower left quadrant. This heron grounds this piece in recognizable reality for the viewer rather than leaving it as a blotchy pattern of colors and textures. Once we recognize the world that this painting is creating, our eye moves up to the horizon and we see the roof line of a house or cabin, smoke eminating from its chimney. I tend to lean toward realism in what I paint and what I like, but "realistically", what I am interested in is naturalism, portraying an image as it relates to the natural world that surrounds us, whether it is realistic, or more impressionistic. For those of you that are staunch realists out , tell me this painting doesn't create an impact on you in some way. go ahead, I dare you.