“The Range”
(Acrylic)
Size: 61x61cm
THE NARRATIVE BEHIND THE PAINTING:
This painting is an experiment in composition. It deals with a limited pallet (yellow/purple/pink/white). This composition invites the viewer to take a journey into the painting….a mysterious journey…where are the trees? Being a regional practitioner I often address local environmental issues in my artwork. This painting is no exception – it is devoid of trees. In my personal life, the village in which I live is renowned for its leafy treed environment. In fact the emblem that signifies Buderim is a Poinciana tree. Buderim Mountain has a population of about 30,000 residents. It has been settled for 150 years. It has many imported trees that are mature and significant which resulted from planted by the pioneers to the mountain. However the Qld and Local Governments have decided that trees should to be indigenous to be politically correct, and plan over the next five year to remove a large number of non-indigenous trees that grow in the Sunshine Coast region! Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Council is replacing these very old, large majestic trees with indigenous tube stock. The ultra-purists in conservation circles refuse to see that in an urban area such as Buderim Mountain which is inhabited by a large population of people, that these mature leafy trees provide valuable amenity to the urban area as well as beauty. I suppose this painting says something about this matter
Art techniques used to achieve this:
You, the viewer, ask yourself…“Why does this image visually work?”
It works because of the horizontal bands across the top (hills) and foreground. The two horizontal bands are joined by a distinctive vertical (purple) connection forming something like an “H” on its side. This gives the image stability when set within the square canvas.
What makes it an interesting composition is that the connecting vertical line is asymmetrical. It also is slightly off centre and has contrasting colours (yellow/purple) on either side.
The composition takes the eye on a journey from left into the painting and then up to the apex of the range.
The painting is semi-abstract in that it relies on composition and colour rather than representational content. Although the painting has perspective, the areas of colour are applied in a uniform way that creates the flat planes of colour that I favor. (See previous post #31 for more details on this matter)
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