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PAST EXHIBITIONS

COMING INTO VIEW

GALLERY JONES
VANCOUVER, BC
SEPTEMBER 11 – OCTOBER 9, 2021

LARGE CANVAS

t h e  l i t t l e s . . .

Beyond the Brushstroke

“The painting is not on a surface, but on a plane which is imagined. It moves in a mind. It is not there physically at all. It is an illusion, a piece of magic, so that what you see is not what you see.” -Philip Guston

Traditionally, one thinks of Ross Penhall as a painter of landscapes – the Prairies, West Coast mountains, trees and fields.

With this series of new paintings, Penhall’s forms, light, shadow and colours create a place of tension between the idyllic and the ominous and take us to an imagined place beyond the painting’s surface and brushstrokes.

Whether we are in front of a painting of the Prairies or a tree-lined park, we are immediately struck by the play of sweeping light. As much as they are suffused with light, these paintings are also filled with shadows. What is lurking beyond the cadmium green lawns and vibrant orange and soothing pink trees? These places may seem familiar to us, but we cannot find them in the physical world. These are places of the imagination filled with a tension between the light and dark, between an optimism and a looming sense of mystery or foreboding. As well, these spaces are void of human figures. They are like stage sets awaiting the actors to inhabit them. We are those actors, drawn by the light and shadows into an imaginary place – a place of interiority – a mindscape.

The interiority of these paintings stands in contrast to the Prairie paintings where the sky dominates. When we consider the Prairie paintings, we no longer have stage sets awaiting actors. Instead, vast skies occupy the majority of the canvas and render the Prairie almost insignificant. The great power of these paintings is the sky. Very different from sky treatments by other traditional landscape painters who are much more literal (Dorothy Knowles comes to mind), Penhall’s skies hold a force that almost threatens the land and draws us into an otherworldly atmosphere.

In Penhall’s paintings, what we see is not all there is. These paintings invite us to move beyond the surface of the raking light, the forms and the colourful trees. We can never fully comprehend these paintings, yet we are captivated by them. In our inability to comprehend all that we see, we acknowledge that Penhall’s paintings take us beyond the brushstroke. These paintings move in our minds.

Ann Webb | July 28, 2021

SHAPE & STRUCTURE

CALDWELL SNYDER GALLERY
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
FEBRUARY 8-28, 2021

FAR AND WIDE EXHIBITION

CALDWELL SNYDER GALLERY
ST HELENA, CALIFORNIA
AUGUST 5-31, 2020

FAR AND WIDE is a continuation of the hours spent alone collecting, collating, and creating ideas depicting the real and imagined places I’ve been. Manneristic exaggerations of the vertical and horizontal come together with muted and saturated color mixed side by side on the canvas.

Aerial, linear, atmospheric, and forced perspective are techniques used to heighten and accentuate the distinct characteristics of each landscape.

Narrow inlets, wide prairies, and layered valleys are constructed to bring color fields together, allowing the shadowy rich under painting to peek through.

Wide, loose brush strokes and instinctual decisions, alongside a willingness to allow each color laid down to possibly change the direction of the work has resulted in a group of landscapes that are expansive and expressive.

Ross Penhall, Canadian Landscape Painter, Canadian Landscape Artist, Canada's foremost landscape artist

HERE AND THERE (ALONG THE LINE)

GALLERY JONES
VANCOUVER, BC
FEB 27 – MAR 28, 2020

19-34-Early-Start-20x96-oil-on-canvas

THIS BODY OF WORK depicts images of the vertical and the horizontal, represented by the west coast and the prairies.

The mountains of the west coast are tall and often forbidding. They form a beautiful and dramatic view while blocking infinite horizons. Having to pass through, having to get around, or having to climb over them, illustrates, for me, possible impending doom, challenges, darkness and obstacles.

The prairie in contrast is wide open and vast. I can roam freely in any direction however it can be overwhelming; focus is required. Exaggerated color as well as aerial, linear, atmospheric, and forced perspective are techniques used to heighten the distinct characteristics of each place on a canvas.

The coastal mountains are exaggerated by narrowing inlets and increased elevation, while the prairies are widened and flattened. The delineation lines, in the prairie work are formed when bringing the colour fields together allowing the shadowy rich under painting to peek through.

I feel deeply when immersed, in creating, these contrasting landscapes. Painting these two images is therapeutic. My conflicting feelings are quieted with my palette, brushes and canvas.