When land becomes landscape, I can stand with the artist, side by side in companionable looking, in conversation about why this place, why this time, allowing the sharp lens of the artist’s perception to hone my rough thoughts."
-Victoria Dickenson, The Good Lands
Each landscape exhibition that I have created starts with a journey. I extensively search the land until I am captured by what I see. My reaction is visually, subconsciously and spiritually felt, thus putting words around this experience is often difficult.
A number of the vistas from this body of work have been captured through an en plein air painting process and are found in the Cave Springs Conservation Area, Beamsville. I walked on the ridge of the escarpment in search of painting locations that would offer a clear view of the surrounding countryside below, which often stretched to the edge of Lake Ontario.
The Cave Springs Conservation Area has its own history and mystique. From my vantage point, at the top of these sheer cliffs, I certainly felt the genius loci of the place or the sense of its past. Being on the ridge, it brought to my mind the conversation about the viewer’s connection to the artist’s vision. This makes me think about a quote by Victoria Dickenson in “The Good Lands” stating:
"When land becomes landscape, I can stand with the artist, side by side in companionable looking, in conversation about why this place, why this time, allowing the sharp lens of the artist’s perception to hone my rough thoughts."
I use the geometric demarcation created by the fields and surrounding countryside to create the core abstract structure of the pictorial space. In this pictorial space, the strong delineation of forms and colour vibrations resonate with energy.
Furthermore, these paintings are edited realities. They are a distillation of elements purposefully arranged and devoid of most buildings and highways. I am depicting this idealized agrarian landscape as a means of creating awareness of what is happening to some of the most beautiful fertile farmland in Canada.
-Carolyn Dover
A number of the vistas from this body of work have been captured through an en plein air painting process and are found in the Cave Springs Conservation Area, Beamsville. I walked on the ridge of the escarpment in search of painting locations that would offer a clear view of the surrounding countryside below, which often stretched to the edge of Lake Ontario.
The Cave Springs Conservation Area has its own history and mystique. From my vantage point, at the top of these sheer cliffs, I certainly felt the genius loci of the place or the sense of its past. Being on the ridge, it brought to my mind the conversation about the viewer’s connection to the artist’s vision. This makes me think about a quote by Victoria Dickenson in “The Good Lands” stating:
"When land becomes landscape, I can stand with the artist, side by side in companionable looking, in conversation about why this place, why this time, allowing the sharp lens of the artist’s perception to hone my rough thoughts."
I use the geometric demarcation created by the fields and surrounding countryside to create the core abstract structure of the pictorial space. In this pictorial space, the strong delineation of forms and colour vibrations resonate with energy.
Furthermore, these paintings are edited realities. They are a distillation of elements purposefully arranged and devoid of most buildings and highways. I am depicting this idealized agrarian landscape as a means of creating awareness of what is happening to some of the most beautiful fertile farmland in Canada.
-Carolyn Dover
