Bringing the Outside In

TRA Presents Artist

Jamie Young

"Crystal Blue" oil on canvass 84 x 60 inches

WE are in the season when the days seem desperately short, ridiculously cold, and dare I say it....depressing. The old adage "If you don't like the weather just wait a few minutes" does not hold much water in November through February, and most of March for that matter. It's cold! Snowy, wet, and cold. The chill in the air does have a positive effect on Art and Design though. Clients are forced to deal with their interiors with no chance at a reprieve until the tundra thaws in late March.

"Rabbit Hollow in Moonlight" oil on canvass 84 x 60 inches

One trend I see over and over is another old adage "Bring the outside in". This month TRA presents Jamie Young. She is a well documented landscape artist who lives and works in Massachusetts. She has been bringing the outside in for 3 decades with fresh, loose, and colorful landscapes. She notes that she paints in between caring for her farm and her kids, but her work is anything but weekend warrior, part time paintings. They have a depth of color and light, that very simply but cauciously, portray the land that she travels everyday. As she drives her truck though Ashfield MA, where he farm is located, she frequently stops on the side of the road to photograph or sketch something that catches her eye.

"North Field Pass" oil on canvass 60 x 60 inches

The work itself has a sketchy quality to it. Though the final product is fully constructed, with every brushstroke thought through before execution, the looseness of the work gives it a thoroughly modern sensibility. The brushstrokes are long and juicy. A three inch brush easily communicates a tree branch. A confident stroke shows a control over the medium that few painters ever master.

"Rabbit Hollow" close up

Jamie Young is talented at making it look easy. The trees and the sunlight are just part of the picture for Miss Young. If you are only seeing landscape in Young's pictures you are missing the forest for the trees.

"Crystal Blue" close up