From Deseret News archives:
Jurors drawn to freshness
First, and most important, the best landscapes are created when the artist actually goes outdoors to paint. Copying from a photograph just won't cut it.
"Freshness seems to come out if they've painted it from life, but not so much if they've painted it from a photo," said Clayton Williams, who owns and operates Williams Fine Art in Salt Lake City.
Judging whether a scene came from a photo or life takes an expert eye, Williams said. "A photo doesn't give you an accurate test of the varying hues and values, so if a painting doesn't have that, you can usually assume it came from a photo."
Another criterion for a winning landscape is strong drawing skills.
Jean Arnold, a landscape artist whose work is featured throughout the Intermountain region, said that no matter what medium the artist chooses, the underlying drawing skills determine the art's quality.
Also, observational skills are important. Arnold said those skills seem particularly strong in Utah artists definitely more prevalent here than in, say, New Mexico, where more abstract landscapes are the norm.
But most of all, the winning landscapes in this year's show express each artist's personal voice. "I think the landscape itself, the notion that there's something out there that must be objectively captured, is not where it comes from," Arnold said. "I think it's what the artists project onto the landscape, their interpretation of it, their way of seeing it, that lets everyone who sees it understand what they (the artists) were really seeing."
For Doug Braithwaite, who won the Purchase Award in last year's show, a landscape needs to evoke some kind of emotion. "I think there are signals that a person can pick up on (in nature) that are maybe deeper than what you can verbalize," Braithwaite said. "When I'm out on the landscape painting, I can feel something that I can't see if I'm working from a photograph. And I think a good painter can capture those emotions."
Braithwaite said that this year's winners had structurally solid work, strong paint strokes and the craftsmanship that comes with experience. His advice for next year's hopefuls: paint, and then paint some more.
"I really think it's a numbers thing," he said. "You paint about a thousand paintings, and then you really start to feel it. And you paint about a thousand more, and you can show what you feel in the work."
E-mail: jcloward@desnews.com
Comments
- TSA gets Grinchy with snow globes 4:34 p.m.
- Luxury resort in depressed Rhode Is. 4:34 p.m.
- Jones' joy for life remembered 4:09 p.m.
- 'A Christmas Story' opens this week 4:05 p.m.
- Fantasy is reality for BYU professor 4:05 p.m.
- Special exhibits and programs 4:05 p.m.
- Art gallery exhibitions this week 4:05 p.m.
- 'The Nutcracker' tradition of change 4:05 p.m.
- Ballet West sponsors coat drive 4:05 p.m.
- Utah concert calendar 4:05 p.m.
- Cave to be sealed with body inside
- Predicting the unpredictable: BYU wins
- Vegas, Poinsettia bowls or bust
- Glover gives Utes last-second upset
- BYU football: 5 keys to victory
- Cougars turn back Wildcats'
- Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
- Running game key to BYU offense
- Budget cuts won't help in 2011
- Efforts to save a life praised
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
272 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
136 - Letters: Rushing to judge Palin
134 - Boys basketball rankings
134 - Cave to be sealed with body inside
113 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
113 - Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
111 - Letters: Trump card for believers
98 - Rivalry Week is highly profane
88 - Utah, BYU are top choices for bowls
76
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the holiday retail season...
When "Dancing With The Stars" began more than two months ago, 16 couples...
Comedian Brian Regan, who is scheduled to perform at Abravanel Hall on...
good examples | 3:49 p.m. Nov. 28, 2009 I know, just buy them a teddy...
did they listen to you? Or did you know something in advance? Because they...
posting your witticisms here too! By all means - let's drag out good old...
the church was able to reach out to many Children in the community which...
sloan never intendrd to trade boz. and everybody figured he would play good...
you are certainly a shining example of a student who attended a teacher's...
I always compare every version of the Nutcracker to the Ballet West...
I agree with frustated - I am sad for the families loss, but I'm also sad for...
Guess what, kids love caves but this one should have been closed long ago....
I didn't mean to be anonymous. What a wonderful portrayal of the Christ of...



You can be the first to comment on this story.