Winter Scene with the Sun Setting Behind Trees 1880 - 1930

Louis Apol captured this Winter Scene with oil paint, sometime during his career. The way the gray bleeds into brown, back into gray, it's all about mixing and muddling – kind of like how I approach painting. I'm drawn to the bridge, how it looks like it's almost dissolving back into the landscape. It's a real material thing depicted in a way that questions its own reality. The paint is thin in parts, thick in others. Look at how he's layered the colors in the sky. There's this glow, this muted light, that feels so real. You can see how he's built up the textures, especially in the trees, there's something there that reminds me of Whistler. Both artists manage to capture something about light and atmosphere. Ultimately, this painting is about embracing the unknown, the beauty in the blur, and the magic in the mundane.