Post Modern Era: Realistic Paintings of the Outdoors

 Paintings of Nature During the Post Modern Era

The post modern era is an era of art that we are currently in, which began in 1980. There have been a whole bunch of different artists throughout this era who have created a wide variety of different art. Despite all of the different types of art that have been completed during this era, there have been a number of different artists who have created photorealism paintings of nature.

Emerald Forests Along the Gunnison River:

Emerald Forests Along the Gunnison River is an oil painting that was completed by Kay Witherspoon in 2021, in the state of Colorado. Witherspoon explained that she completed this painting, as well as several others along the Gunnison River since "There are so many beautiful places to paint" along the river (Witherspoon 2022). I like this painting, because it is a realistic painting of the outdoors during a nice sunny day. I would like to own this painting, because it is a peaceful painting of a flowing river with healthy plants and trees. 

Lines

Kay Witherspoon used a bunch of curved lines in her painting to create rocks, so that we would get the feeling of comfort and ease. She did this so we would know that the scenery in the painting is peaceful, where a person can be comfortable and at ease as they enjoy the beauty of nature.

Color

Kay Witherspoon uses darker colors in her painting to create shadows so that the painting looks more realistic. Not only do the shadows make the painting look realistic, but they also help us to know where the sunlight is coming from. 

Texture

Kay Witherspoon did a good job at depicting texture. She did a good job with painting the grass, where she was able to use small strokes to represent the individual pieces of grass. With this detail, we are able to remember the feeling of soft, flimsy grass.

Sunshine on the Yellowstone River:

Sunshine on the Yellowstone River is another oil painting that was done by Kay Witherspoon. She had completed this painting in 2017, in the state of Wyoming, four years before the the first painting shown above. Witherspoon explained that she completed this painting since she has so many enjoyable memories from the time that she spent on and around the Yellowstone River. Similarly to the fist painting shown above, I would like to own this painting as it too, is a peaceful painting of the outdoors with a river on a nice, sunny day.

Lines

Kay Witherspoon used lines in her painting to convey different feelings. She used a bunch of curved lines to create the rocks, which is used to comfort and ease. She does this, so we can know that we can be comfortable and at ease as we are admiring the outdoors.

Form

Kay Witherspoon creates form by adding a third dimension to the painting. She uses dark colors to create shadows on portions of the rocks to show that there are divots, since the divots are not being hit by the sunlight. These divots help us to see that there is a third dimension to the painting.

Color

Kay Witherspoon was able to create form in her painting by using color, but she was also able to make it look realistic by placing shadows on other portions of the rocks, as well as on the hill of grass, so we can know that the sunlight is coming from above and to the left, where it is set back a little bit.

Clearing Light:

Clearing Light is a 26 inch by 40 inch oil painting that was completed by Jeffrey Vaughn in 2022, where it is believed to have been painted in Illinois. Vaughn completed this painting as well as many others in order to portray the quiet, "serene aspects of the natural world" (1stDibs 2022). I would say that this is the reason for why I like the painting, because it is a depiction of a nice, peaceful scenery of the outdoors. I would personally like to own the painting, where I would hang it up on my wall.

Lines

Jeffrey Vaughn used lines in his painting to convey different emotions. He used a horizontal line to depict where the grass ends in the background, as well as to changed the sky from orange to grey. He uses these horizontal lines 

Color

Jeffrey Vaughn uses dark colors to create shadows, so that the painting looks more realistic. There are a number of shadows in this painting, but there is a big one that stands out, where a shadow is cast onto the grass by the row of trees in the middle of the paining.

Texture

Jeffrey Vaughn uses texture in his painting to make it look realistic. Most of the grass in the painting appears to be a set back, so it is not quite so detailed, but there is some close-up grass in the bottom right of the painting that has quite a bit of detail. Vaughn was able to do a good job at making the grass detailed, by using small strokes to create the individual pieces of grass. He was also able to do a great job at making the painting look realistic, by making the rocks look rough with all of the detailed divots that he made sure to include when painting the rocks.

Wildflowers and Distant Trees:

Wildflowers and Distant Trees is another painting that was done by Jeffrey Vaughn. This painting is a 40 inch by 50 inch acrylic painting which was painted in 2011, where it is also believed to have been painted in Illinois. As the previous picture, Vaughn painted this to portray the quiet, peaceful scenes of nature, which is why I also like this painting. 

Lines

Jeffrey Vaughn used a number of lines in his painting to convey different things. He created a horizontal line with the tops of the flowers at the top of the painting in order to convey distance and calmness. He does this, so we know that the trees in the background, as well as the hill in the upper right of the painting are set back in the distance by quite a bit. He also used the horizontal line to show that it is a nice calm day.

Vaughn uses curved lines in his painting to suggest comfort and ease. He used a bunch of curved lines to depict the grass, the leaves, and the stems of the plants, as well as to depict the tops of the flowers. He does this so that so we will feel at comfort and ease as we look at the beautiful, peaceful field of flowers.

Color

Vaughn uses color to make his painting look better. He uses dark colors in the bottom of the painting to create shadows, since there are plants that are shading the area beneath. Vaughn also uses color to create a sense of mood. He uses light colors for the flowers and the grass, so that we are happy and joyful. To help with this, he used dark green colors in the background, so that the field of flowers and grass would look even lighter, as they are right next to the dark colors.

Form

Jeffrey Vaughn does a good job at creating form. He was able to create a third dimension in his painting by placing flowers and plants behind one another.

Timeless Odessa:

Timeless Odessa is an oil painting that was completed by Sallie Smith in 2013, in the state of Colorado. Smith's "paintings usually depict the American west" (Herzog 2016). Her paintings are good depictions of some of the beautiful landscapes that can be found in North America, which is why I like this painting. It is a nice painting of the outdoors, with a bunch of trees, a big mountain, and a lake.

Lines

Sallie Smith used lines in her painting to convey feeling. The far edge of the lake is made up of a horizontal line to show distance and calmness. She did this, so we would be able to realize that we are looking at quite the large area of land and water, while also helping us to know that it is a nice, calm, sunny day.

Color

Sallie Smith uses color in her painting to make it look more realistic. She uses dark colors to create shadows of the trees. All of the trees bordering the left of the lake are casting shadows onto the lake, while most of what we can be see of the trees have been darkened, since they are facing away from the sunlight. This can help us to know that the sun is over to the left. Smith also used white in her painting, where we are able to see that the sunlight is reflecting off of the water.

Texture

Sallie Smith did a good job at depicting texture. It is cool that she made the dead logs at the bottom of the painting look so realistic, with all of the stubs that she had on the logs, as well as the dents that can be seen on some of them. The detail that can be seen on these dead logs can help us to know that they have a rough texture to them, being as they look so real.

Loch Vale:

Loch Vale is an oil painting, which was also completed by Sallie Smith in Colorado. It is not known when this specific painting was made, but while looking at Sallie Smith's biography, it looks like she must have completed the painting sometime between 2004 to 2015. With this, we can know that it was painted during the post modern era. This painting, as her last, is a nice depiction of the outdoors, that is used to "depict the American west" (Herzog 2016). I like the painting, because it is a nice, peaceful depiction of a river and a mountain, as well a bunch of trees.

Lines

Sallie Smith used lines in her painting to convey calmness as well as distance. The far edge of the water in the painting creates a horizontal lines, which is used to help us realize that the mountains we are looking at are quite big, and that they are set back quite a bit. The horizontal line is also there so we will realize that it is calm and peaceful in the painting.

Color

Sallie Smith used color in her painting to make it look real. She used dark colors to create shadows on the rocks located in the middle left of the painting, as well as below the rocks, in the water. This is used to make the painting look real, while also allowing us to know that the sun is located to the left of the painting.

Texture

Smith also used color in her painting to create texture. She used several different colors on the rocks in the bottom right of the painting to make the rocks look rough. She also uses darker colors on the rock located in the middle left of the painting, to create jags in the rocks.

Citations

Herzog, Nadia. “Glorious Landscape Paintings in Contemporary Art.” Widewalls, 12 June 2016, https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/landscape-paintings-contemporary-art.

Smith, Sallie K. “Loch Vale.” Sallie K. Smith Fine Art, https://www.sallieksmith.com/works/1265036/loch-vale.

Smith, Sallie K. “Sallie K. Smith.” Sallie K. Smith Fine Art, https://www.sallieksmith.com/other1.

Smith, Sallie K. “Timeless Odessa.” Sallie K. Smith Fine Art, https://www.sallieksmith.com/workszoom/1069602/timeless-odessa.

Vaughn, Jeffrey. “Jeffrey Vaughn - ‘Clearing Light’, Contemporary, Photorealistic, Oil Painting, Framed, Canvas.” Jeffrey Vaughn, 2022, https://www.1stdibs.com/art/paintings/landscape-paintings/jeffrey-vaughn-clearing-light-contemporary-photorealistic-oil-painting-framed-canvas/id-a_9546272/.

Vaughn, Jeffrey. Jeffrey Vaughn, 2011, https://www.jeffreyvaughn.com/paintings/2011-2008/880.

Witherspoon, Kay. “Emerald Forests along the Gunnison River.” Kay Witherspoon, 30 May 2022, https://kaywitherspoon.com/landscape-art/emerald-forests-along-the-gunnison-river/.

Witherspoon, Kay. “Sunshine on the Yellowstone River.” Kay Witherspoon, 13 Sept. 2020, https://kaywitherspoon.com/landscape-art/sunshine-on-the-yellowstone-river/.