Hunting and Gathering
Philip Koch, Chestnut Ridge Panorama, pastel, 9 x 12 inches, 2018
I needed to show someone some of the preparatory work I did for my large painting Chestnut Ridge Panorama below. It was the culmination of a 3 year long exploration. Above is a pastel drawing I made in the later stages to help me figure out what color chords to use in the painting's expanse of sky.
Philip Koch, Chestnut Ridge Panorama, oil on canvas, 36 x 48
inches, 2018
But it's all worth it in the end.
This work was all created during the time I served as the Artist in Residence at the Burchfield Penney Art Center from 2015 - 2018. Some of these pieces were included in the museum's solo exhibition of the work from the Residency last year.
Philip Koch, Chestnut Ridge:May, vine charcoal, 9 x 12 inches
2015
One of the things that so fun about this series is the work began on a warm day in May 2015. Through many twists and turns in the studio the painting evolved away from that into a wintery painting of ice formations on the Lake Erie shoreline. I needed to try out a pile of alternatives before I realized the feeling I was after needed to be radically narrowed down in focus and required a completely different season.
If you only let yourself jump once, how can you be sure of landing in just the right place?
Philip Koch, Chestnut Ridge: Lake Erie, vine charcoal,
12 x 9 inches, 2015
Philip Koch, Chestnut Ridge, Lake Erie: Blue, pastel,
12 x 9 inches, 2015
Philip Koch, Chestnut Ridge Panorama, vine charcoal,
10 1/2 x 14 inches, 2015