Godrevy Lighthouse 

John Miller’s ‘Godrevy Lighthouse’ is an exploration of landscape, light, and the materiality of paint itself. The painting is created with bold, expressive brushstrokes of oil paint, a traditional medium with a long history. Miller’s application of paint is quite direct. The colors are vivid and somewhat unnaturalistic, which suggests an interest in capturing the essence of a scene rather than a photographic likeness. We can clearly see how the paint has been applied, with thick impasto in areas, adding a tactile quality to the work. By emphasizing the materiality of the paint, Miller invites us to consider the labor involved in creating the image. The brushstrokes reveal the artist’s physical engagement with the canvas. The way Miller manipulates his materials is part of the experience of this painting, which sits between the traditions of landscape art and the more self-conscious concerns of modernist painting.