"Los Angeles-In Color"
charcoal, oil on canvas
20x64"
"Orange Tree #2"
charcoal, conte crayon, and oil on canvas
24x50"
"Downtown View #2"
oil on canvas
22x48"
"View From Mulholland Drive"
oil on canvas
48x72"
"Koreatown #1, #2"
oil on canvas
8x10"
The Pulse of the City-Landscape Painting in Los Angeles
Everywhere populations exist there is feeling, action, and interaction; a pulse. Living in a region one begins to take note of this pulse, sometimes understanding it clearly, sometimes wondering what its all about. Translating those intangibles to canvas is what this show aims to do. Many of the locations and objects depicted here are studied and revisited multiple times, the feeling of the place gradually absorbed rather than quickly captured. Painting on location provides unique challenges and benefits; the distractions present and the logistics of finding a proper location are daunting enough to make the average painter shy away from this practice. But alas, when the location is scouted and the light is right, something magical happens, and the painting becomes much greater than a mere representation. The passerby who stops to chat, the group of young children who observe diligently, and the fellow artist who offers advice, all of these people and the subsequent reactions and interactions become part of the creative process, expanding outwards from easel and palette. As with most Art, the ultimate goal of creating work that speaks both universally and locally is ever-present, only then do the paintings truly become powerful. Sometimes we succeed, and sometimes we fail when we are sure to succeed, but always we are feeling "The Pulse of the City".
Yuma Lynch
Los Angeles
2015
