Loma Amarillo 1989

Eyvind Earle made this painting, Loma Amarillo, with flat planes of colour, building a landscape that feels both real and hyper-real. The layers of the hills receding in the distance – I can imagine him building it up, blocking in the basic forms, refining and tweaking, finding a balance between representation and abstraction. I’m thinking about the discipline it must have taken to create this work. Look at how the yellow emphasizes the contours of the hills, but also creates a light source of its own. Earle was probably inspired by the landscape around him, responding to it, and then using that information to make something new – a translation or a transmutation, or even a kind of visual poem. I wonder if Earle ever looked at Milton Avery – there's something similar in how they handle colour and form, simplifying the world into something poetic and rhythmic. All artists are in conversation with each other, picking up on ideas, riffing on them, and making them their own. It’s all one big feedback loop of creativity!