In his college years, Stephen C. Datz began hiking the Southwestern landscapes of Colorado, Utah and Arizona, and those sojourns into nature were what inspired him to paint landscapes of his own. In an upcoming show at Medicine Man Gallery titled New Perspectives, he returns to the same locations he painted in early years, this time with a more experienced eye.
Coffee With the Gossips, oil, 30 x 60"
“The cornerstone of my work is exploration,” Datz says. He doesn’t start out with a fixed subject in mind. Instead, he hikes trails and drives down winding roads waiting for something to catch his interest.
Datz recently revisited Arches National Park and captured one of the park’s most distinctive landmarks, known as the Three Gossips, in a painting called Coffee with the Gossips. “On this particular occasion, I happened to be out there right at sunrise,” he says. “My constant companion on early mornings is a good cup of coffee, and I got to enjoy this beautiful sunrise lighting up the red rocks.”
When thinking back to his early years as a painter, he reflects that he’s slowed down his process. “I used to go out and the first thing I saw, I’d set up my easel and go for it,” he says. Now, he is in less of a hurry, and prefers to “window shop” for the right subject matter. He adds, “When I’m out with my other plein air painter friends, I drive them nuts because they’ll be halfway through a painting and I’m still thinking about which one of the scenes that I’ve seen I actually want to paint.”
Awash in Color, oil, 12 x 8"
He’s also on the hunt for subject matter that will challenge him as a painter. Though he acknowledges every painting is a challenge in its own way, after 25 years of painting in the same locations, he’s looking to tackle subject matter with a different point of view. “In places like Arches, the light and color are so fantastic that it can almost be a bit scary to get out there and work fast enough to get something you can bring back to the studio,” he says.
The Monsoon Arrives, oil, 10 x 10"
In The Monsoon Arrives, Datz captures the fleeting moment of clouds and light right before a storm. “There’s a bit of trepidation that goes along with the excitement of painting this kind of subject matter,” he says. “I’m always seeking to achieve something that feels new.
I don’t want people to come to the show and feel like they’ve already seen it.”
New Perspectives opens on January 22 and remains on view through February 10.
Upcoming Show
Up to 20 works
Jan. 22-Feb. 10, 2022
6872 E. Sunrise Drive, Suite 130, Tucson, AZ, 85750
(520) 722-7798, www.medicinemangallery.com
Powered by Froala Editor
