Lower Ducktrap 1978

Neil Welliver’s large-scale painting of "Lower Ducktrap" is a testament to the patient observation and dedicated mark-making required when working en plein air. You can sense the artist standing knee-deep in the river, squinting in order to capture the way the light bounces off those mossy greens, pale greys, and murky browns. I can almost feel the chill of the water, and the bugs biting. Look at the determined way he describes each stone and pebble. He is not just painting what he sees, but really considering the relationship between each form, surface and plane. The rocks become like characters in a play, each one reflecting and refracting light in its own way. Welliver's work reminds me of Fairfield Porter’s quiet intensity, but with an added dose of monumentality. It’s as if he’s saying: the world is always here for you if you bother to pay attention.