The Welliver Woods are unlike any other, distinct not only in technique and composition but in the energy that perfuses from the canvas. This energy is kinetic, perpetual, and psychedelic: you are listening rather than looking- melting into the scene in front of you. The Alexandre Gallery presented 25 paintings spanning three decades of the artist's career. Each painting is large- square panels 72 inches tall- and stands alone on the wall. HOwever, his paintings don’t appear on the wall at all, but rather doorways to another world.
Quotes posted between the artwork provided helpful insight into the method and priorities Welliver had when creating a painting. In one quote he denies having a method at all, relating himself to de Kooning's improvisational approach. Welliver usually worked en plein air, hiking through the woods “loaded down with easel, canvas, brushes, oil, thinner, and tubes of color, to the spot where he will paint.” There he would stay for hours creating a study, which he will then use to make a large drawing before and then a large painting. His final paintings contain very few layers; every stroke stands alone and unmuddied. Even the smallest blade of grass in Marsh Shadow works in harmony among the thousands of others to create a story of light and flow.
I would agree that Welliver’s paintings are strong, modern and full of life. His unique, immersive process to derive a large piece from a small scale study demonstrates his sensibility to these woods. You can feel these landscapes hold personal value. His outdoor exploration grants him the opportunity to be inventive and not constrained to references. I think the point you’ve made about his paintings being powerful despite not having any fauna or figures is something I also noticed almost immediately. Despite there not being a protagonist visibly grazing the landscapes, the compositions feel animated. It would be interesting to see how different Welliver’s plein air studies look in comparison to his final large paintings.
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