John Whalley: Earth Tones
“When, last year, I was considering the theme for this show, I chose Earth Tones to encompass the several directions I wanted to take with my new work. The first of these was quite literal, as I drew detailed graphite landscapes, long panoramas in three cases, which ended up comprising a quarter of the show. Whether an abandoned house glanced by day’s last light, winter fields inscribed by crops they had grown, or the mystery of a forest trail, these scenes evoked emotions and affections in me for this earth that I strove to capture here.
In love as I am with the medium of graphite and the magic of monochrome, I continued on to complete the second quarter of the show with still life drawings of a variety of subjects, seen rather close-up, singly or in groupings, where I could study their forms and textures, and the way that light bathed their shapes. In a more spacial context, a weathered shed door in New Harbor seemed a perfect tour de force of textures, to which I added portraits of three of my own shovels.
Turning to egg tempera and oil, I decided to keep the color range of my palette in the realm of ‘earth tones.’ I’ve always had an affinity for ‘the earths’ - the siennas, umbers, ochres… ‘Old World’ names; used for telling picture-stories all the way from humankind’s first caves paintings to the magic of Rembrandt’s genius or Rauschenberg’s combine paintings. I selected objects from my studio’s collections and composed them to tell my own stories. As with the drawings, the subtlety of texture and light, with the added dimension of color, became my concern and my delight to describe.” - John Whalley
Advancing the tradition of American realists and acknowledging the Dutch masters, John Whalley’s paintings go well beyond mere technique. His work exudes tremendous warmth, luminosity and charm. He responds to what he calls “the beauty that speaks softly.” He was born in Brooklyn, New York and currently lives in midcoast Maine. Whalley received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1976.
His work is in numerous private, national and international collections including the Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia; the Otto Naumann Collection, New York City and the Alfred Bader Collection, Milwaukee, Wisconsin to name a few. His publications include John Whalley – American Realist published in 2001 and John Whalley – In New Light, a 30 year retrospective book of drawings and paintings published in 2006. In addition, he was featured on the television show Bill Green’s Maine in 2008.
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Featuring J. Thomas R. Higgins’ “Field of View” in the side gallery
“Growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, my earliest exposure to art was the work of Edward Redfield, Daniel Garber and related Pennsylvania Impressionists. Later, my heroes included Van Gogh, Kokoschka and other painters with a romantic vision. For almost five decades, I have responded to the Maine landscape with passion and a personal viewpoint.
By working on site through direct sensory experience, the act of painting becomes an intuitive and spontaneous process of participating in natural spaces, hopefully resulting in a dynamic, animated and painterly response to subjects that are, for the most part, untamed and in flux. It is a straightforward procedure of pushing oil paint around with brushes to achieve an unequivocal, tactile gesture that becomes the equivalent of what is seen and subjectively transformed. Painting (as well as hiking) in untrammeled landscapes helps me (in the words of naturalist Bernd Heinrich) ‘to feel connected to something tangible that can be seen, smelled, tasted, that is much greater than our own fleeting existence.’ I leave it to the viewer to decide what these paintings may have to say. “ - J. Thomas R. Higgins
Higgins’ paintings have been displayed in numerous exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad, including at U.S. embassies in Canada, Hungary, Iceland, Gambia, Greece and France. In recent years Higgins was selected for residencies at Acadia National Park and the Joseph A. Fiore Art Center. Among the publications featuring his work are the following: The Art of Maine in Winter; Paintings of Maine; On Wilderness: Voices from Maine; Art of Katahdin; Ripple Effect: Water Stories. He graduated cum laude from Maryville College and received his MS and MFA in painting and drawing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Having taught at Marietta College, Colby College, and in the University of Maine System, Higgins retired as Professor Emeritus from the University of Maine at Farmington. He continues to be an outdoor enthusiast and advocate for natural spaces.
