Douglas Fryer, "Elusive Moments" Group Show 2020

DOUGL A S FRY ER

June 15 – 27, 2020 Jackson Hole Artist Reception | June 18 | 5-8pm

DOUGL A S FRY ER Elusive Moments

Jackson Hole | Scottsdale | AltamiraArt.com

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Turn on Thistle Creek Oil on panel | 60 x 60 inches Enquire

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DOUGLAS FRYER

Spotlight: Turn on Thistle Creek In my work, I continually confront the dichotomy between mimicking reality and conveying idealism. Looking at natural forms as well as spiritual forms. Being objective but also subjective. Copying nature but also inventing.

It’s challenging for me to recognize both sides of those relationships; this painting captures that elusive image in my head that I’m chasing.

I’m constructing an art object, recognizing the surface, marks, layers, forms, and how they relate, blend or interpenetrate. Once I accept the rules of the composition, I can transcend them. Only then does the painting become more real than if I had rendered every single element faithfully. This particular piece blends reality with abstraction—a razor’s edge.

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Thistle Creek is close to my home, off the highway. For the last 15 years this place has caught my eye. In this painting, I take this spot—not necessarily picturesque—and allow its beauty to emerge through formal relationships.

Conscious choices happen all the time in my paintings. I deliberately compose them.

I use geometry and dynamic symmetry to place forms within the square. However, the best moments stem from intuition, when I surprise myself and say: “Well, I didn’t expect that to be beautiful.” In the end, those moments carry the great weight of content, rather than the subject. The subject is important; there has to be an emotional and aesthetic response. I enjoy emulating nature. I enjoy drawing. I enjoy solving problems. Yet, the content of the work comes about after the subject is decided.

At that point, you are designing. You are

pushing materials around. The content emerges by ringing true to memory.

There’s a lot of emotion in these paintings.

There’s constant motion. Some aspects melt away and blur, while others are more clarified. I’m trying to define the subject by elements that are not necessarily visible.

Like listening to the rustle of leaves, water, wind. A cloud is there and then it’s not. A field is in shadow and now light. I want to convey a passage of time. I have to sense those things and remember them. There has to be a dialogue. If it’s only me plotting a plan and then following it exactly, the painting would be stale. Instead, I leave myself open to questions and surprises, which requires me to vigilantly aware.

Surprises disappear if I’m not careful. I let the painting talk to me. It has intelligence.

In those times, I am most surprised and stunned by the possibilities.

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Moonlit Fields and Canyon Oil on panel | 36 x 36 inches Enquire

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Sun and Rain Oil on panel | 36 x 36 inches Enquire

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Final Cutting Oil on panel | 18 x 18 inches Enquire

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Distant Farm Oil on panel | 18 x 18 inches Enquire

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New Day Oil on panel | 48 x 48 inches Enquire

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Gold Harvest Oil on panel | 60 x 60 inches Enquire

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172 Center Street | Jackson Hole Wyoming AltamiraArt.com | 307-739-4700

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