Why This Works: Diffused Light, Balance of Careful Rendering and Looseness

– Jeanne Mackenzie reporting –

In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and points out why they succeed as painted images. This week, Josh Adam’s “Canoe Creek.”

Lead Image: “Canoe Creek,” by Josh Adam, oil on board, 12 x 12 in.

This lovely landscape reminds me a bit of the work of 19th-century American painter Worthington Whittredge. With attention to detail, the artist renders the scene with care, yet there is enough looseness of stroke to give it a more contemporary and spontaneous feel. The dense forest allows little direct sun to infiltrate it, but the artist has masterfully infused the scene with delicate, diffused light from the sky.