Crimson Eucalyptus 1998

Eyvind Earle made 'Crimson Eucalyptus' using, I imagine, many layers of paint to get this smooth surface. It’s kind of dreamy, right? The way Earle builds up the forms, those trees, with all those tiny marks, it’s like he’s creating a whole world, bit by bit. Look at the way the crimson and dark blues almost vibrate against each other. He is so unafraid of dark colours. The texture is smooth, almost like glass, which makes it so different from what you expect from a landscape. It's more like a stage set. And take that dark tree trunk on the left—see how it's flecked with these tiny spots of red and purple? It's like each spot is a little jewel, adding up to this incredible, almost unreal texture. It reminds me of Arthur Dove's landscapes, but with a touch of surrealism thrown in. Earle wasn't trying to copy nature; he was trying to invent his own version of it, and in the process, he reminds us that painting is an act of invention, not just imitation.