The Mission 

Editor: This is "The Mission," an oil painting by Benjamin Brown. I’m immediately struck by its sunny, almost dreamlike quality, that ochre landscape receding into the blue mountains feels very calming. What do you make of it? Curator: Calming, yes, and I see a sort of... optimistic haze. It makes me think of early California, that sense of discovery, you know? Brown captures that light so beautifully. He really seemed to understand the magic of plein-air painting, letting the landscape itself dictate the artwork’s creation, the pure light. Does the brushwork tell you anything about his process? Editor: It looks fast, free...definitely impressionistic. Lots of dabs and dashes. It reminds me a little of Monet, but warmer somehow. Curator: Monet on California sunshine! Precisely. Look how he uses those quick strokes to build texture – you can almost feel the heat radiating off the road, smell the dry grass. And it’s more than just imitation. It’s about the emotional response to that light, to that place. Ever painted outside, ‘en plein air’? It changes everything. Editor: I've tried it, with watercolors! But the light never looks like that! So do you think he was successful at capturing California's specific qualities? Curator: Absolutely. The feeling that the place leaves with you permeates. That very unique golden, serene, very optimistic California feeling. It almost hurts with how pure and bright it feels. The work almost has an intangible effect, a deep understanding of his feelings during the mission. That's where true mastery resides, if you ask me! Editor: I think I see what you mean. I initially thought it was just a pretty landscape, but now it feels like more, a place filled with a certain... longing, an essence that feels lost. Curator: Exactly. And that's why art is never just a picture, is it? It is an invitation to participate in another human’s encounter of our reality.