Dawn in the Hills 1922

Robert Julian Onderdonk gave us ‘Dawn in the Hills’ with oil on canvas, and it feels like a tender, early morning breath of fresh air. Look at how the color is applied, almost like dabs, building up into this hazy, layered view. There’s a real atmospheric quality, a kind of stillness made by the way he handled the paint; it’s not overworked, but it’s certainly present. Notice that tree on the right, it's not just a tree, it's a collection of strokes that somehow come together to give you "treeness". I love how the light pours down, almost like a stage light, making the hills seem to emerge from the shadows. It’s like he’s saying, hey, this is how I see the world, in these washes and whispers of pigment. It reminds me a bit of Corot, that way he balances what’s real with what’s felt. Ultimately it leaves you with a sense of wonder, that maybe there are as many ways of seeing as there are artists to see them.