A Vagrant Dream 1995

Eyvind Earle’s painting is a dreamy, almost hypnotic landscape, with these strong verticals and deep blues and greens. I can imagine him layering the paint, thin washes at first, maybe, then building up these dense areas of forest. You know, when I look at the rhythmic way he’s placed the trees, it feels like a musical score, like some kind of forest symphony! He's playing with our perception, layering space upon space. I wonder if Earle was listening to music or maybe thinking about musical structures when he made this? I'm struck by how the light seems to emanate from within the trees, giving the whole scene an otherworldly glow. It makes me think about other landscape painters like Lawren Harris or even some of the Hudson River School painters, who were also trying to capture the sublime in nature. These painters are constantly in dialogue, reaching back and forth across time, each adding their own unique voice to the conversation.