The Richmond Art Museum (Indiana) is pleased to offer the first museum solo exhibition for Hoosier plein air artist Dan Woodson. “Into the Woods: Hoosier Landscapes by Dan Woodson” is on view June 9 through July 20, 2019.
On the Plein Air Landscape Paintings of Dan Woodson
By Fred Doloresco
Rooted in the tradition of Indiana landscape painters, Dan Woodson’s work celebrates the love that Hoosiers have for their native hills, valleys, rivers, and creeks. Indiana’s rich history of landscape painters dates back to an earlier time, when interstates and highways did not crisscross this verdant land. This legacy is a benchmark that all landscape painters in our state seek to emulate.
Dan’s paintings are composed with an instinctive feeling for leading the eye through a simulated three-dimensional space and have a strong feeling for light and shadow. The balance of cool and warm values is rendered in such a way that the atmosphere is at times palpable.
It is the choice of subject matter, however, that seems to resonate with those who appreciate Indiana art. Rolling hills bathed in glorious sunshine, trees sheltering a cool stream, hollyhocks alongside a warmly painted fence, figures strolling by the familiar Hobnob Cafe . . . these are the types of subjects that seem to appeal to him and also to those of us who love the flora and fauna of Indiana. He has truly traveled the state from its northern dunes on Lake Michigan through the flat plains in the middle of the state that were scraped by the glaciers millennia ago and thence to the rolling hillsides covered in the native trees of Brown County and finally to the riverside towns in the southern part of the state, including Madison on the Ohio River and New Harmony along the Wabash.
He has admirably represented the visual pleasures of the seasons, including snow-clad hills, scenes of spring in bloom, hazy and languid summer days that lead to the muted kaleidoscope of fall colors.
Dan’s paintings have been celebrated in books on the Indiana landscape and have garnered awards in the most important exhibitions in the Hoosier State. His gentle demeanor and self-deprecating personality, however, are his greatest features, making him a beloved figure to his fellow painters and collectors as well. I hope everyone who visits this important exhibition not only appreciates the strong feeling he has for the land but also senses the perceptive spirit of the man himself who has connected so strongly and directly with it.
Learn more about “Into the Woods” at richmondartmuseum.org.
Upcoming travel and art events with Streamline Publishing:
- September 22-29, 2019: Fall Color Week: Ghost Ranch
- October 11-19, 2019: Fine Art Connoisseur Art Trip to France
- November 10-13, 2019: Figurative Art Convention & Expo
- May 2-6, 2020: The 9th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo
Like this? Click here to subscribe to PleinAir Today,
from the publishers of PleinAir Magazine.
