Casa Reza 

Felice House’s 'Casa Reza' captures an intimate landscape on canvas with oil paint. Oil, prized for its slow drying time, allows for blending and layering, evident in the sky’s soft clouds and the textured surfaces of the rocks and flora. House applies the paint with varying degrees of thickness, building up the forms of the cactus, rock, and sky. Note the contrast between the smooth, almost translucent washes of color in the sky, and the impasto technique used to depict the prickly pear cactus. The energy of the brushstrokes adds a dynamic quality to the painting. The rough, broken surfaces of the rocks are depicted with similar tactile intensity. Consider the labor involved in both cultivating the land and representing it. House’s painting process mirrors the gradual, incremental work of nature, transforming a bare landscape into a vibrant ecosystem. It prompts us to think about the value we place on both natural resources and the artistic skill required to capture their essence. In Casa Reza, House asks us to see value in a new way.