Yep, These Are Paintings. Trees On A Line by Trey Friedman.

Trey Friedman's most recent series of paintings, Trees On A Line, was inspired by a particular tree lined road in rural Connecticut which he isolated to 170 trees he routinely returned to render and observe.



Aerial photo of the trees:





The straight half mile stretch of farmland consisted mostly of of Sugar Maple trees, which the property owner estimates average an age of 150 years with some as old as 250 years.



Numbered photos of the trees:





Beginning in 2004, he began to paint the trees in oil, one by one. Inspired by William Beckman and Chuck Close, he co-opted dead-center compositions and in his words " exchanged the egocentrism of human self-portraiture for the ego centrism of arboreal portraiture."







From life, drawings, oil sketches and photos, Trey transferred an initial drawing, using a grid as a guide, laying in paint square by square with a tiny brush on smooth primed canvas or cradled woodboard panels.



Grid Sketches:



and next to the final art (shown larger later in the post):





Charcoal Drawings and studies:





Averaging 24 x 32 inches, the paintings are rendered in a photographically realist manner. After three months of drying, Trey applied one to five layers of color glazes (with two weeks time between each glaze) to get the light and texture just right.



It's hard to believe the following are paintings and not photographs:



























Trey Friedman is represented by Gallery Henoch.

Yep, These Are Paintings. Trees On A Line by Trey Friedman.

Trey Friedman's most recent series of paintings, Trees On A Line, was inspired by a particular tree lined road in rural Connecticut which he isolated to 170 trees he routinely returned to render and observe.



Aerial photo of the trees:





The straight half mile stretch of farmland consisted mostly of of Sugar Maple trees, which the property owner estimates average an age of 150 years with some as old as 250 years.



Numbered photos of the trees:





Beginning in 2004, he began to paint the trees in oil, one by one. Inspired by William Beckman and Chuck Close, he co-opted dead-center compositions and in his words " exchanged the egocentrism of human self-portraiture for the ego centrism of arboreal portraiture."







From life, drawings, oil sketches and photos, Trey transferred an initial drawing, using a grid as a guide, laying in paint square by square with a tiny brush on smooth primed canvas or cradled woodboard panels.



Grid Sketches:



and next to the final art (shown larger later in the post):





Charcoal Drawings and studies:





Averaging 24 x 32 inches, the paintings are rendered in a photographically realist manner. After three months of drying, Trey applied one to five layers of color glazes (with two weeks time between each glaze) to get the light and texture just right.



It's hard to believe the following are paintings and not photographs:



























Trey Friedman is represented by Gallery Henoch.

The Oil Paintings and Pastels of Contemporary Artist Susan Bennerstrom

above: Susan Bennerstrom, Fort Mason, 32" x 36", oil painting

Artist Susan Bennerstrom began working in pastels and then moved to oil paints in 2008, but her exploration with the depiction of light has continued despite the change in mediums as you will see in this collection of her works.


above: Susan Bennerstrom, Expect to Wait, 35" x 42" 2001, oil pastels


above: Susan Bennerstrom, Still Waiting, 2010, 20" x 24", oil paint on panel

With strong plays of light, shadow and reflections, her works seem to imply either anticipation or expectation - and in some cases, absence. Despite the presence of the human figure in her work, the narrative suggests that one is either coming or has been there.

While she continues to paint interiors and objects, recently she added paintings of buildings within landscapes, to her repertoire. Focusing on the structures rather than the environment, she imbues them with the haunting light of dusk or dawn.


above: Susan Bennerstrom, Georgetown, 32" x 36", oil painting

above: Susan Bennerstrom, Stove, 32" x 36", oil painting

Lonely hallways, inviting stairwells, unmade beds, doors ajar, empty chairs and open windows offer a hint of the human presence in many of her works. Below are just a few of my favorites.



















Susan Bennerstrom:


In the artist's own words:
"Since the early 1980’s my main theme has been the exploration and depiction of light. I began with landscape as a foil. Gradually, buildings started to enter the compositions, at first far away and tiny, then closer and larger, until the buildings became the main focus and the landscape shrank. Finally, I concentrated on details of the buildings and the objects within them. Always, however, the structures and objects are stage sets for light with its transformative power and ability to affect emotions. I rarely put figures in my paintings, as I find that they tend to take over; I prefer to let light and shadow imply the narrative and carry the emotional weight. In addition to the dearth of human figures, I also choose to paint quite ordinary scenes, and for the same reason: by focusing on the easily ignorable architectural detail, washbasin, household appliance, piece of furniture, or houseplant, I like to explore how a fall of light can turn a humble item into something poignant and worthy of lasting attention.

I don’t think of myself as a realist painter in the currently accepted sense. I work from photographs, which are themselves abstractions – one step removed from reality. I travel further into abstraction by removing details, shifting things around, changing perspective, exaggerating the quality, color, and direction of light, investing the shadows with greater emotional intensity. The paintings wander far afield of straightforward observations of reality, and instead become my own emotional response to the places and objects depicted.

I have worked for many years in pastels, both chalk and oil. At the beginning of 2008 I laid pastels aside and began working in oil paint. Haven’t looked back. While I continue to love the look and feel of pastels, they presented problems: with chalks it was the dust, with oil pastels it was finding a durable and easy-to-use varnish. Now I’m at home with oil paint, and finally understand why it is the granddaddy of all art mediums."

Susan is presently showing at the Sue Greenwood Fine Art Gallery.
You can see Susan's available works at the Davidson Galleries