Influences





Western Landscape oil 14 x 18

I was browsing the internet today, looking at some of the artists' work at the Dowling Walsh Gallery in Maine.   It got me thinking about influences and how region plays a part in the style of work an artist might produce.   I grew up in the East, but have settled for the past 15 years or so in the West. Much of the work that is created here obviously reflects the Western landscape and people, but also shows the heavy influence of Maynard Dixon, Edgar Payne, the Taos painters and others who have previously painted the area.  As I was looking at the art at Dowling Walsh, I noticed the direct influence of many painters who famously resided in Maine such as Fairfield Porter, Andrew Wyeth, and Edward Hopper. The paintings differ stylistically from those produced in the West.

Does the choice of place--where one chooses to set roots, determine one's influences?  I think in many ways it does.  I can say that I look to Hennings and Wendt and Blumenshein because they relate to my way of seeing the West. We have place in common. I have experienced the landscapes and people that their paintings depict and that carves a certain character in my paintings. Their modern counterparts continue to influence the styles of the region and those paintings also influence me. It is an interesting historical connection and it is satisfying to find some common ground.