Topophilia : Into the Canyons
The Force of Stillness – Crooked River Canyon, acrylic on paper, 22.5x30 inches (More info.)
About the show
On the very first day of my first visit to Central Oregon, a morning hike at Smith Rock and an afternoon ski at the Nordic Center forged the dream to move out West. Over the decades, this place became home through both uplifting and painful life experiences, all sharpened and cushioned by the pinch-me joy of actually living every day in a place most people only vacation in. Then, during the pandemic, life changed dramatically all over the world. Though representational, these canyon paintings are a retrospective of my internal journey these past few challenging years. A time to take stock, to look and feel deeply, and to find ways to love this troubled, exhilarating, maddening, gorgeous world.
“There is a word for love of a place: topophilia, popularized by the geographer Yi-Fu Tuan in 1974 as all of ‘the human being’s affective ties with the material environment.’ In other words, it is the warm feelings you get from a place. It is a vivid, emotional, and personal experience, and it leads to unexplainable affections.”
– Arthur Brooks, “Find the Place You Love. Then Move There.”
The Atlantic, January 14, 2021
Think back to the early days of the pandemic, when our homes became both refuges and prisons. The places where we used to meet friends and family and to feel community were mostly shuttered to us and, here in Central Oregon, trailheads leading to our favorite spots to walk, float, climb, play, and find peace were closed. Initially I was able to find solace in my favorite places by painting them. “Golden Hour – Smith Rock” brought me back to a stunning crystal clear October day.
Golden Hour – Smith Rock, acrylic on canvas, 24x24 inches
As cabin fever grew, we (the member’s of my pandemic household) cast about for new places to walk and breathe that weren’t gated. Somewhere beyond our neighborhood streets. New-to-us trails up in the BLM became favorites. We returned again and again to the Crooked River, Deschutes River, and Whychus Creek canyons viewing the cliffs and water from the rim at dawn, or the river-level depths when the late afternoon sun cast deep shadows or in the flat light of a cold gray winter day. Each visit inspired new color palettes and compositions that begin to paint a portrait of this place.
The Confluence – Whychus Creek meets the Deschutes, acrylic on canvas, 30x18 inches
When you stand on a canyon rim or scramble down rocky switchbacks, you witness layers of history in the cliff faces formed over millennia. These Central Oregon canyons, some dozens, some hundreds of feet deep, were formed during the Pleistocene, as many as 5 million years ago. Venture far enough and all trace of human intervention fades. It might leave you feeling insignificant or expansively part of a much greater whole. But it definitely gets you feeling something. These canyons open up new worlds.
Topophilia : Into the Canyon
Paintings by Anne GIbson
First Friday opening from 3–7 pm on October 7 at Tumalo Art Company in the Old Mill District and on view through November 1, 2022.
Minis (for me)
My painting style lends itself to working large. I use palette knives, spatulas, and even pieces of matte board to apply layers of paint and alternatively scrape marks and lines into the surface. Sometimes I like to challenge the process by working small. Several 8x10s on paper will be available in my bin at the gallery, ready to frame
In the Studio
Meanwhile, I continue to develop new paintings inspired by my self-directed residency at Playa Summer Lake. If you missed my August newsletter and would like to read more about that experience, you can find it on my website here.
The new improvements to my studio walls have allowed me to continue working on canvases stapled directly to a homasote-like soft surface. Wonderful textures come through the fabric and become part of the image as I build on layers. I am enjoying focusing more on color and form and texture and less so on detail – and yet still the sense of place feels strong.
I hope you enjoy hearing about and seeing my work. Be well.
Playa colors no. V