Landscape

A few years ago I moved to the edge of the wilderness so that I could be immersed in the beauty of the natural world. My surroundings have since become the inspiration for my work.

Landscape painting, or capturing the “Spirit of a Place” has been a popular form of expression for centuries. In the beginning of the Renaissance it was used as a backdrop for figures telling a religious or mythological story. Gradually as everyday objects and compositional concerns replaced a story theme, the landscape itself took on importance and meaning. I feel this importance and meaning has taken on an especially vital significance in these times.

My paintings sometimes share a feeling of mystical peacefulness with the viewer in a similar way that the landscape paintings of Maxfield Parrish do, but the strength of color and form in these paintings follows more in the tradition of the expressionist movement instigated by Van Gogh and Gauguin. It is for this reason I decided to call the work Naturalistic Expressionism.
—Beth Avary

		Red Tree oil on canvas 48"x 36" 2003
		Orange And Yellow Tree oil on canvas 48"x 36" 2003
		Mountain Fog At Sunset oil/canvas 24"x30" 2004
		Canyon Fog oil/canvas, 18"x24" 2004
		By The River acrylic/canvas 30"x 40" 2004
		Red Hill acrylic on canvas 24"x 30" 2003
		Along the Ocean Trail acrylic/canvas 24"x 30" 2003
		Moon Lit acrylic/canvas 24"x 30" 2003 Honorable Mention at the 74th Annual Statewide Exhibit put on by the Santa Cruz Art league.
		Returning Fog acrylic on canvas 30"x 40" 2003
		Swirling Fog acrylic/canvas 18"x 24" 2002
		Autumn Shadows Giclee/canvas, hand embellished. 18"x 24" s/n limited edition 100 2004
		Oak Tree With Lion acrylic/canvas 30"x 24" 2003
		Harvest Moon Giclée on canvas, 2000 s/n limited edition 100 30"x24"
		Oak Tree With Sun Giclée on canvas, 2001 s/n limited edition 100 24"x18"
		Point Lobos acrylic on canvas 24"x 30" 2000