Study for Falls - Jam Brook 1996

Neil Welliver made this study of Jam Brook with paint, probably oil on board, and it's all about how he sees and feels the landscape. The way the colors are put down is so direct, like each brushstroke is a decision, a step in a thought process. Look at the water, how it crashes over the rocks. It's not about making it look exactly like water, but more about capturing the energy, the force. The paint is thick in places, like he's building up the texture of the rocks and the way the moss clings to them. Then he uses thin washes for the light filtering through the trees. There’s this one spot where the water hits a rock and explodes into white foam. That one spot, it’s like a metaphor for the whole painting, all the other marks and gestures are working together, crashing into each other, creating a whole world in this small space. Welliver reminds me of Fairfield Porter, who also had this knack for turning ordinary scenes into something really special. Like he's saying, "Hey, look at this, isn't it amazing?"