Untitled (California Rural Landscape) c. 1937 - 1939

Thomas Theodore Craig created this landscape, probably in California, using graphic media to create a range of grey tones. It's a really evocative image of a rural scene. Look how Craig coaxes so many values from his materials. There's a soft, hazy feeling in the sky, achieved through delicate gradations, which makes me think of the drawings of Vija Celmins. But then, the rolling hills are rendered with these sharp, almost sculptural lines, aren’t they? See how the individual blades of grass in the foreground are marked with meticulous detail. It’s all about touch, and looking closely. Each mark, each stroke, feels deliberate. That winding road, how it carves through the landscape, feels like a metaphor for the choices we make, or the paths we find ourselves on. Like, which way do you go? I'm reminded a little of the Precisionists, particularly Charles Sheeler, with that attention to the detail in the built environment, or Grant Wood. But ultimately Craig has his own thing, an individual voice. Art isn't about answers, but about opening up possibilities.