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Edward Hopper- Looking Out

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Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Morning,   oil on canvas, 1950,  Smithsonian American Art Museum Above is a painting I've loved for some forty years. I'm fortunate to be able to see it often as it lives in the SAAM in Washington, D.C. . This painting contains a real clue to Hopper's art. I visit there often as it helps me learn how to see better. Often writers will talk about the loneliness of Hopper's paintings or how his figures feel isolated and rarely interact with one another. While there is some of that in Hopper's painting, it begs a question- why is Hopper's art so widely loved? I'd offer a couple of answers. First, he's one of the most talented painters and was able to invent visual equivalents for strong emotions we humans experience as we live our lives.  He saw color combining in unexpected ways and offered up generous servings of the most delicious color combinations. Yum. Usually, as in the SAAM's Cape Cod Morning above, when he paints...
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Two Paintings Many Meanings

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I  was moving paintings around my studio last week and temporarily leaned one of my landscapes against another. Something about how the two oils looked together struck me so I let them remain that way for awhile. Accidentally the two canvases had fallen into a conversation. The very different spaces in these paintings seemed to suggest very different states of mind. One used the panoramic view to talk of a wide open expansiveness. The other of a purposely narrowed-down focus on feelings more intimate and personal. Edward Hopper famously said "If you could say it in words there would be no reason to paint." As elastic as our spoken languages are, I'm convinced much or even most of our experience lies just beyond the grasp of words. The two large oils of mine in the photo above juxtapose two very different  parts of our inner experience.  Philip Koch,  Chestnut Ridge Panorama , oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches, 2018 Sometimes our thoughts ...
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Background on Two New Paintings

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Summer Island, oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches, 2023 My painting Summer Island  is at Somerville Manning Gallery in Greenville, DE. Funny story behind it. Originally I painted a nearby peninsula extending into the waters of a northern lake. The far shore was close by as well and was heavily forested.  I liked the result but as I studied the painting I found the most intrigue in the wonderfully irregular rhythms of the peninsula in the foreground. Wanting to give that the star billing I painted on it further and gradually pushed the background farther and farther into the distance. Eventually the distant forests dissolved into peaceful atmospheric blues. Finally the foreground trees seemed to ask to stand alone, so I cut the peninsula off from the shore. The remaining little island seemed happiest with it new untethered status.  Kitchen Table, Truro Studio, oil on panel, 18 x 24 inches, 2023 Kitchen Table, Truro Studio  is in the new exhibition The ...
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