Arizona-based painter Brian Cote must put a smile on the face of the person who sells him his paints. The artist, who paints landscapes of the Southwest, uses a thick impasto technique that he achieves using brushes, trowels, palette knives and even his fingers. “A 30-by-40-inch painting could easily weigh 15 or 20 pounds,” he says, adding that he also paints larger works.
Camelback, oil, 36 x 60”
Of course, paintings are not measured by weight, but they certainly can be measured by light and form, elements that Cote—pronounced “co-tay”—brings to life in his chunky paint and immense texture. “[I work]in these thick tapestries of oil paint, and they teeter on the edge, back and forth, between realism and abstraction,” he says. “So there’s a real dynamic going on between the textures and rhythms, and I think they’re very exciting and people are responding to them.”
Cote lives in Tempe, which is in the Phoenix area, so he has great access to many of the rocky peaks in the Valley of the Sun, from Camelback Mountain to South Mountain, as well as further destinations that might offer more natural views of the desert and its vastness. These land features, everything from bare cliffs to dry riverbeds, are the subjects of Cote’s newest show Desert Muses, opening October 14 at Paul Scott Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. The show will present more than a dozen new works that show how texture, form, light and technique can be used to present unique views of the desert Southwest.
Into the Distance, oil, 60 x 36”
The show comes at a great time for the artist, whose works have been scooped up quickly at Paul Scott Gallery. “Brian is innervating the sleepy world of the Western landscape by putting emotion and feeling back into it. He aggressively challenges that ‘same old scene’ with thick, juicy texture, daring color palettes and lots and lots of strong shapes, patterns and movement,” gallery owner Paul Eubanks says. “Not only are his sales brisk, but we have shipped his paintings all over the country from Vermont to Washington, a sure sign that his innovative style has escaped the traditional Western/Southwestern brand. As a result, his success will continue to grow.”
Blue Horizon, oil, 18 x 24”
Cote’s own art journey sheds some light on how his artistic voice was developed. He recalls being very young and exposed to Van Gogh. “I was blown away. I didn’t realize up until that point how you can express yourself through art,” the artist says. “The raw, gritty truth to the way he painted, and the texture he used to help get that across, that really struck me. It was at that point I knew for sure…I wanted to pursue art. From then on, I took every course I could get involved in.”
He was originally born in Connecticut, though he was raised in Arizona. He didn’t come to realize the beauty of the desert until he was removed from it during a brief stint in Georgia. By the time he returned for good, he knew he had to paint the desert and its unique relationship with its human inhabitants.
Shadow Valley, oil, 16 x 20”
Red Mountain Light, oil, 36 x 48”
“My art speaks with a sophisticated yet brutish expression of the natural world. My intent is to engage with my environment and to force upon it the full brunt of my personality, thereby creating a singular, identifiable experience where my subject and my vision become inseparable,” he writes on his website. “Painting provides me with a rich and expressive visual language to interpret the landscape and connect with the viewer. The slap and dash of pigment on canvas, the layered and textured weave of color and the rhythm and dance of sunlight within a composition splash across my canvas and sing out with a desperate, beautiful longing for life. I desire to share the breadth of my artistic vision and struggle with you so that you may come to know the beauty that surrounds you in a new light and a new truth.”
Vertigo, oil, 36 x 48”New works in the show include Camelback, a painting that shows how homes and other buildings are now part of the landscape of Camelback Mountain, one of the most painted land features in the Phoenix area. Other works focus on the clouds and sky, both of which he paints in measured strokes that hold everything together with a loosely assembled patchwork of color and form. Many of his pieces have a luscious blue and violet palette that are far removed from the more sun-baked yellows and oranges of other Arizona paintings. In Shadow Valley, for instance, he paints an assortment of mesmerizing blues that are in the clouds and sky but also in the shadows on the ground, which seems to trap the warmer light within this delicate press of color.
Brian Cote in his studio in Tempe, Arizona.
“I don’t have a system that I work with. I always start with A and get to B, and then from there get to C and then D, until I eventually have a finished piece,” Cote says. “All of my works are individuals and each one is a special experience. I utilize the paint and composition to inspire the work, and sometimes that can be very reactionary, which is OK. I really just like to go at it and see where it all leads.”
Cote’s Desert Muses will remain on view at Paul Scott Gallery through October 28 in Scottsdale. —
Brian Cote: Desert Muses
October 14-28, 2021
Paul Scott Gallery, 7103 E. Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 596-9533, www.paulscottgallery.com
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