California Hills 1989

Eyvind Earle made this painting, California Hills, with an eye for flattened forms and graphic delineation. Imagine him out there in the sunshine, squinting, trying to capture that particular California light that turns everything into high contrast! I wonder if Earle started with the big shapes, laying down those velvety, dark greens of the hills, before carving out the luminous path winding through them. The way the branches reach out at the top, it's almost like the landscape is being framed, invited to dance. It reminds me of Milton Avery's simplified landscapes, or even some of the early modernist painters who were trying to distill the essence of a place. But Earle’s got this unique thing, like a graphic novel, yet still manages to evoke the quiet, rolling beauty of California. It is a testament to how different artists see, think, and experience the world.