Philip Koch Paintings

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 ...

Philip Koch, Warm September, oil on panel, 14 x 21inches, 2020 Art expresses the emotions painters have about their subject. Sometimes though it's the opposite.  This is my painting Warm September  that is at Somerville Manning Gallery in Delaware.  I started the piece by painting with mostly verdant green colors over three hot June afternoons. To be honest it was sort of weather that starts you longing for a crisp Fall day.  Later back in my studio I gave in to that fantasy and changed the calendar on that painting to a more temperate Fall day. Liked the result a lot. This was the second painting I made from that spot. I'd found this subject when I came across a lovingly maintained split rail fence at the side of a field in East Aurora, NY. This  was an area the fanciful painter Charles Burchfield favored for his own landscapes (I was the Artist in Residence for   the Burchfield Penney Art Center in nearby Buffalo from 2015-18).  Here ...

/ Philip Koch Paintings was named a local expert of Rochester, NY, on Redfin. Check out the article we were featured in: 15 Beautiful Places in Rochester, NY | Redfin Redfin's article includes my painting Canopy, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches, 2023 (see below).  It was inspired by my memories of the old growth forest I grew up in along the shore of Lake Ontario. After I would get off the school bus I had a long walk home along a winding road through the woods. After school you could take your time.  I'd walk slowly, soaking in nature's indelible personality.  One thing about forests that have never been cut down- they're tall . Your eye follows the tree trunks as they s oared upward, ending in an interlaced network of branches. You're almost compelled to cast your gaze upward. I'm convinced the architects who designed the historic  European cathedrals had this in mind.  Here's the segment from Redfin- 4. Take in the scenery of Gosnell Big Woods Preser...

Philip Koch, Edward Hopper's Studio, Truro,  vine charcoal, 7 x 14 inches, 2020, Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College, Lynchburg, VA I'm happy the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College in Virginia has acquired my drawing above for their permanent collection. The drawing touches on my own history and the role seeing the work of the Edward Hopper played in my own career.  While m y own art is quite different than that of Edward Hopper I count his as my best teacher. A s a young painter  I began by making abstract canvases. But after it seeing his strong light and solid volumes it felt as if Hopper had tapped me on the shoulder saying "You know you really want to be a realist." My drawing was inspired both by my many residencies staying and working in Edward Hopper's studio on Cape Cod and by a particular Hopper painting in the Maier Museum's collection, Mrs. Scott's House . Initially I'd known of the Maier painting through reproductions. It fascin...