Winter 1981

Eyvind Earle made this landscape painting called *Winter* with a crisp palette of blues, greens, and white. I imagine Earle layering thin washes of paint, building up the image, and then scratching into the surface to reveal the stark geometries that define the snow-laden pines. I feel for the artist and imagine them trying to capture the quiet stillness of a snow-covered forest, something like a silent cathedral in the woods. The long shadows and bare trees create a sense of depth and distance. There’s a beautiful contrast between the organic forms of the trees and the sharp edges of the snowdrifts, as well as between the smooth surfaces and the textured bark of the trunks. I think about the graphic quality of the work and how the hard-edged forms look like paper cutouts, laid one on top of the other to create a theatrical tableau. It's interesting to see how Earle’s exploration of landscape and nature connects him to a broader lineage of painters who try to capture the sublime in nature, and in doing so, reveal something of the spiritual power of the world around us.