The deserts of the American West are places of stunning beauty, brilliant color and light so powerful it can water the eyes. They can also be places of worship: cathedrals under the vast clouds, where worshipers trek great distances to partake in a sacred sacrament in the sand and heat. It’s in these holy settings—from the quiet solitude of the sage-lined arroyos to the wind-whipped hilltops—where light and form, land and sky, time and matter come together to glorify the power of nature.
Wyoming Cowboy No. 2, oil, 36 x 36”
Well, that’s one interpretation. And there are many others, each one as correct as the one before it, especially in the paintings of California artist Glenn Dean, who leaves plenty of room for viewers to see what they want in his works, which often have an introspective quality without bludgeoning the viewer with narrative.
Prairie Moonrise, oil, 36 x 36”
“I love artworks that tell a story, but one of the things that’s important to my own work is to strike the viewer at an emotional level. If the story is too detailed, they won’t be able to draw their own conclusions because the artist has laid it all out for them. So I stay away from that great detail to keep the viewer involved,” Dean says from his studio in Cambria, California. “The fun part is that there is story there if you want it, but it’s somewhat vague. I’m attracted to that bygone era where people lived in the West, and I’m interested in how they lived, how they worked and how they survived. For me, it’s a very simplistic kind of harmony: people in the landscape and interacting with their surroundings. I want people to feel the spirit of the place, which can be hard to explain in words, but you’ll know it if you’ve ever experienced it.”
Along the Desert Trail, oil, 20 x 30”
Dean, whose quiet and reflective paintings of figures in the West are favorites among collectors, will be unveiling new work at a show opening November 19 at Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona. Titled Echoes From the West, the artist will be showing a variety of new works that expand his vision of the desert, including images of Pueblo people and his popular images of Old West figures, both men and women.
“Women are strong and capable figures in the West, and they also can soften the picture a little bit. In so many stories and paintings, women are often secondary characters, butI think framing them in this way and featuring them as important figures alongside men, it adds some integrity to the pictures,” Dean says, adding that some of his male figures are extensions of his own experiences in the desert. “They’re often more symbolic than anything.”
Taos Drummer, oil, 40 x 40”
For a number of new works in the show, Dean uses a square format that he has enjoyed working in throughout his career. “There are so many opportunities with a square painting, often with negative spaces and just interesting shapes. I consider it part of my personal aesthetic because it creates a different weight in the composition,” he says. “A full figure on horseback fits nicely in the square, and I feel like it creates a versatile composition. With a square painting you can have a low horizon with a full sky of clouds, but also a tall hill that might fill that space. An extreme horizontal shape might limit some of these choices.”
Twilight, oil, 20 x 25”
Even though he often paints square compositions, Dean usually starts every work on a horizontal canvas or board, often in plein air on location in deserts throughout the West. He uses a little field box that he can set up anywhere that suits him, and from there he will paint 6-by-8-inch color studies that later inform the final paintings. “It’s those choices made outdoors that end up enhancing the paintings in really profound ways,” the artist adds. Recent trips within the last two years were to Utah and Arizona, and others to Taos, New Mexico.
The Rising Moon, oil, 16 x 20”
Dean’s primary interest with his work is the quality of the light, which can be seen in his newest pieces, which range from high-key afternoon light that is so bright it washes out the color of the land and plants, to more vibrant late-afternoon or sunset scenes, to dramatic twilight paintings showing silhouettes against fading horizons. “With each new painting I’m trying to get a clearer vision, which is whyI don’t want any two or three paintings to look too similar to each other in terms of light quality, composition or color palette,” he says. “It keeps me challenged because I’m always looking for a new color harmony.”
In the Hills of Wyoming, oil, 12 x 15”
New works include Wyoming Cowboy No. 2, showing a mounted rider against a beautiful river valley; Prairie Moonrise, a nocturne showing Dean’s strength in square formats; and Along the Desert Trail, with two riders plodding along a path on a hillside during intense afternoon light. One aspect that is highlighted among his new works is that Dean has a remarkable ability to paint both magnificent land forms, but also barren and featureless landscapes. “For me it all comes down to that negative space,” he says. “Some of my landscapes don’t have many features, which makes them perfect for the figures and horses because it creates a nice stage for them to stand in. Other times I want those bigger forms in the background, but I enjoy painting both because it keeps the paintings interesting for me.” —
UPCOMING SHOW
Up to 20 works
Nov. 19-Dec. 30, 2021
Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery
6872 E. Sunrise Drive, #130, Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-7798, www.medicinemangallery.com
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