Sunset Silhouette 1999

Eyvind Earle made this painting called 'Sunset Silhouette' using what looks like gouache, a kind of opaque watercolor that’s great for flat areas of color. What I find compelling is the contrast between the flat sunset yellow and the three-dimensional modelling of the trees and rocks; the light seems to emanate from somewhere behind the silhouette and give the image a wonderful glow. It makes me wonder what Earle was thinking when he made it: were the forms already in his head, or did he let them emerge as he went along? Maybe he was working against flatness—pushing and pulling the paint, letting the silhouette emerge almost by accident. In my own work I use a similar process of layering and subtraction. Ultimately, painting is all about having a conversation, an exchange of ideas across time. We are all working away, inspiring one another’s creativity.