Hidden Valley 1975

Eyvind Earle made "Hidden Valley" with thin layers of paint to create depth and atmosphere. I can imagine him working away, trying to capture the light as it shifts over the landscape, and building the composition with incredible patience. The tonal shifts create a sort of infinite recession. I find myself getting lost in the details, the repetition of shapes, and the way the texture builds up, and I wonder if Earle was also interested in music? There's a lyricism here, a rhythm, that reminds me of a musical score, and a bit of Japanese woodblock prints too. It’s not just about what’s there but how it’s rendered, how it’s stylized. You can see how the forms are simplified, almost flattened, to create a feeling of depth without relying on traditional perspective. It reminds me that artists are always looking, borrowing, and riffing off each other.