Figures in a Landscape 1918 - 1920

This color woodcut, *Figures in a Landscape,* was made by Frances H. Gearhart. Look at the sky and the landscape; the colours are gentle, soft blues and yellows, and that makes me think about art-making as a process of layering and seeing where the colour takes you. There's such a beautiful use of texture in this piece; the way the clouds seem to float is so calming. The marks in the sky are printed in thin layers, but in the forground we can see how the artist printed more opaque areas. There’s a little stream at the bottom, and the colours almost blend together there, adding a sense of depth to the piece. The black outline emphasizes the different color areas. I’m reminded of some of the prints made by the later Northwest School artists, like Helen Gilbert. In the end, art’s all about this ongoing conversation, and Gearhart’s landscape is part of that, inviting us to see the world in new ways.