J. Gordon Anderson - Contemporary Art

As I slowly begin returning to painting landscapes the question of light arises. For most of my artistic career I have not been that interested in light in paintings, though I enjoy it in the works of other artists. However in landscape painting light is very important, so lately I've been examining the use of light by various landscapes painters, all of whom would be called "realists." What I found in closely studying their paintings is that they are not strict and mathematical, if you will, about where the light hits. In fact in many realist paintings – those of Andrew Wyeth come to mind – the light is very natural looking at a glance, but then upon closer examination is highly invented. I find nothing wrong with artists taking this liberty. The key to light in landscape painting seems to be to make an effort to simply include it in the work, and not obsess over where everything lines up and how it strikes each object in a uniform way... almost like a Bob Ross paintin...

I have really been enjoying getting back into landscape painting. It is a quite a challenge for someone who has for so long painted in a rigid, geometric style. I've been doing a bunch a small studies in oil on canvas board to get back into practice. I've also been experimenting with landscape in egg tempera and doing some work that I think is good. Once again edge tempera proves itself to be a versatile and beautiful medium... no wonder Wyeth used it so much! The goal is to do a number of small egg tempera landscapes, and some in watercolor as I did about 12 years ago, and then to do some larger landscape paintings in oil on canvas. For some reason when I paint in oil I need to work larger. I am still working on my older stuff. Just recently I completed a very small icon commission of the Virgin and Child (picture below - sorry for the glare in the photo), and I am currently working on a largish icon of the Descent of Christ from the Cross. The Sunday school kids are fas...

After my summer show at the Liriodendron in Bel Air, MD I found myself incredibly burned out with everything - art, church, family, etc. - so I took a break from painting for a few months. I'm glad I did, because it helped me refocus and begin a much needed change of direction in my work. While I'm still going to paint the occasional icon I am going to try to do some landscape in egg tempera. I have only done two or three small such paintings in the past, but have always wanted to explore it more deeply. Andrew Wyeth's egg tempera landscapes are so compelling... not that mine will - or ever could - look like his. It is very versatile medium that allows for a lot of subtlety in a variety of ways. It will take a while to get up to speed with this, but I am looking forward to it. I already have one in progress. As for cityscapes - my former signature work - I am burned out with these, and currently so repulsed by Baltimore and what the idiotic leadership of this once great...