Tad Retz found inspiration in an unlikely place for a landscape painter—a koi pond.
“My latest paintings have been the result of me gaining more and more understanding of how a variety of edges and mark making can influence the subject matter. There is a time and place for every kind of edge, hard and soft and everything in between,” he says. “Painting a series of koi pond paintings was the thing that started this whole realization. In those paintings, I learned how important the soft edges were in 90 percent or more of the piece. I was getting this soft look by using a lot of glazing and medium to wipe away and manipulate edges.”
Pacific Grove IV, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
Layered Land II, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
Iceberg Lake III, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in.
He continues, “For example, now I look at a painting blocked in with all palette knife, and I see areas that could really benefit from a similar approach as the koi pond pieces. I may do that in a few spots and before you know it, the painting has really thick and clunky mark making of palette knife but it is balanced by fluid and soft mark making in other areas,” he says. “This balance has been really fun to play around with and the ratio is ever-changing. It is completely up to me on what I feel is right in terms of balanced hard and soft edges. There is no formula, which I love. This principle can be applied to color, and composition too, as well as any subject matter.”
These techniques he’s playing with can be seen in some of his newest works, including the three that appear here. —
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