|
|
March 19th |
Reflections on a Pond is a series of paintings Kevin Macpherson
started in 1996, when he conceived a project that would be part
visual diary, part exploration of light and nature, and part
exercise of sheer will.
Macpherson resolved to do a new 6" × 8" oil painting of the same
subject—the pond behind his home—every day that he could, until he
had one painting for each day of the year.
The commitment he was making to himself was daunting. Would he have
the stamina to paint the very same subject so many times? Would the
results excite him, and would they excite anyone else? As Macpherson
wrote in his painting journal: “We are so jaded and expectant of
special effects and the ‘Wow!’ of something extraordinary. Will
nature, just as God intended, entertain by its mere ordinary display
of daily effects?”
Due to his frequent travels, it took Macpherson five years to make a
pond painting for each day of the year—but he finished the project,
and the labor was worth it.
The resulting collection of paintings makes a glorious case for the
truism that nothing is more constant than change. In the painting
for the cold evening of March 19, the distant mountains behind the
pond are bright orange-red, showing off the effect of light that
gives this mountain range its name: Sangre de Cristo, or “blood of
Christ.” In the painting for July 1, these same mountains are a
deep, cool greenish-blue; in October, the yellows and oranges of the
changing leaves add warmth to the mountains’ faces. Come January,
those hues are replaced by mostly icy blues—yet the artist doesn’t
fail to notice the tinges of green and purple.
Claude Monet and other Impressionists of the nineteenth century
sought to capture the fast-changing effects of light in their
paintings. Likewise, as Macpherson painted his Pond series, he was
less concerned with the subject of the pond itself than with the
effects of light at different times of the day and year. Macpherson
observed and captured the colors he saw, rather than putting down
the colors one might think should be there. This keenness of
observation is one of the foundations of excellent painting, and as
Macpherson points out to his students, it can be learned. Once you
learn to see in this way, his students say, you notice the
surprising variety of colors in your surroundings, and every day
becomes richer.
Many who see the “Reflections on a Pond” exhibit are surprised to
learn that every painting in the series was done with the same four
paint colors: Cadmium Yellow Light, Alizarin Crimson, French
Ultramarine Blue, and white. Rather than buying tubes of paint in a
rainbow of colors, Macpherson believes in mixing his colors from a
simple palette of primary colors: a red, a yellow, and a blue, plus
white. This technique of mixing colors from a “set palette” yields
infinite color choices that, paradoxically, appear harmonious
because of their common origins. It’s another of Macpherson’s
guiding principles, and for anyone who hasn’t thought about color in
this way before, it’s an epiphany.
Taking the Pond exhibit to new venues enables Macpherson to share
his art and himself with a wider audience. The small scale of the
pond paintings invites viewers to step up close for an intimate
visual dialogue. Linda Fisler, exhibit chairperson and member of the
board of governors at Middletown Arts Center, says, “Rarely do we
get the opportunity to see such outstanding plein air paintings
displayed in a setting as intimate as our center in Middletown. This
exhibit is a rare treat.”
With her trademark energy and enthusiasm, Fisler talks up the
forthcoming Pond exhibit and surrounding events. “Just imagine,” she
says, “if you had been alive during Claude Monet's or Camille
Pissarro's time, what a privilege it would have been to listen to
them talk about their methods, their philosophies and their
legacies, or to watch them paint. Well, this Macpherson exhibit and
the other events are like that . . . a chance to see and hear one of
today’s masters of Impressionism up close. This is a big deal! I
think a lot of people are going to come to Middletown for the
exhibit, and they’re going to be surprised by how much inspiration
they take away. Art really can change people’s lives.
The paintings to the left
represent 4 days of the 368 paintings in the "Reflections On A Pond"
series. |
|
