Expanding My List of Influences



Slow Release of the Day © 2009 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 18 x 36"

A couple of years ago I posted a list of the top eleven artists that I felt had the biggest influence on my work. A top ten list would be a much rounder number I know, but I just coldn't narrow it down that far. Now, I'd like to expand on that list with some additional artists that I've been looking at more carefully over the past few months, and add these seven to the first eleven. Some of these artists' works relate to each other and some do not, so, in no particular order:

Dwight Tryon Graceful, and simultaneously ethereal and grounded.

George Innes Rich and mysterious, his paintings allow your mind to create what isn't painted, while hinting at more.

Andrew Wyeth Beautiful browns that are almost monochromatic - images are stark in composition, yet rendered in detail, and have the ability to draw you into their story.

Lawren S. Harris Harris's paintings seem to seek out a spiritual essence in nature, allowing anything extraneous to this experience to seem to drop away.

Emily Carr I should have realized earlier that I couldn't have Goergia O'Keeffe and Agnes Pelton without adding Emily Carr. Her work also seems related to Charles Burchfield's. She seems to paint the wind.

Frederick Judd Waugh Known Best as a marine painter, he understands the physicality of the sea and powerfully conveys the experience of it.

Kaii Higashiyama Simulataneously grand and simple, his paintings are bold while holding a profound sense of quiet.

In looking over both lists I can see certain characteristics held in common. A strong affinity for nature is apparent, as well as the sense of mood. Technically, all of these artists combine softness and gradations with bold contrasts, shapes and composition. Values are key and so is a feeling for drama, even when it's a quiet grandeur.