Maria Hajic, director of naturalism at Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, writes of James McElhinney: “In his paintings and prints, McElhinney explores the more ethereal aspects of nature glimpsed only at night, creating haunting landscapes from the Hudson River Valley to the Desert Southwest. Edges dissolve and the landscape is simplified and devoid of details. Capturing the nuances of light, color and shadow, McElhinney evokes a mood as well as a place.”
Moonrise Pilar, monoprint with chine colle and mixed media, 13¾ x 183⁄8 in.
American Nocturnes, an exhibition of his recent work, will be shown at the gallery June 14 through July 20, featuring 15 watercolors, monoprints and intaglio prints.
In 2019, McElhinney worked with Michael Costello, master printer at Hand Graphics in Santa Fe. “I had thought about expanding my imagery from daylight landscapes to nocturnes,” he says. “Working with Michael, I had the impulse to experiment with night scenes making monoprints. Several were successful. That led me to expand the investigation further. Working with a master printer is a collaborative process. Michael is highly skilled, not just a technician. I create watercolors to explore different compositional ideas. I work with the printer in hopes that the process brings the work to a new place. It’s surprising at times to see where the process takes us.”
Bachelor Mountain: Headwaters of the Rio Grande, watercolor and mixed media on paper, 5½ x 7¼ in.
He observes, “Night is a time when few people are standing out in the landscapes making landscape paintings.” If people do stand outside at night they experience an amazing blue light that McElhinney captures in his sketchbooks, paintings and prints. The phenomenon is a result of the Purkinje effect, in which the light sensitivity of the eyes shifts to the blue end of the spectrum in low light conditions. The phenomenon is interpreted as “blue light” by the brain.
McElhinney follows in the tradition of the expeditionary artists of the 19th century who recorded their experience of the “new” landscapes of the West in their sketchbooks.
Elegy, watercolor and mixed media on paper, 7 x 9 in.
“Anyone will get more out of the encounters with nature if they proactively engage,” he says. “Taking photos or sketching, taking notes. Drawing and painting provide me with modes of engagement, and the means to develop sensory experience into a species of knowledge that gives rise to ideas. The hope is that my efforts will inspire others to explore their own homes, settlements, lands and waterways, to discover these wonders anew, perhaps with a sketchbook in hand.” —
Gerald Peters Gallery 1005 Paseo De Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 954-5700, www.gpgallery.com
Powered by Froala Editor
