| Artist's Statement Robert Sudlow |
"Painting for me is a sort of communion. I paint in the midst of the landscape
knowing that eyes are not enough. I wish for total immersion: touch, smell, sound,
and the awareness of the swift flight of the sun. To paint is to participate, to extend
one's senses, to work in sympathy with an utterly mysterious cosmos. My canvases
are not productions: they are imperfect recordings of a series of happenings."
"The more I paint, the more I become convinced that the greatest mysteries lie in the
common light of day - a weed patch, the mid-western landscape, the polluted but
still-living earth. In the "art world," landscape painting is generally considered
passe`. I remain oblivious to this world and paint such places that most strongly
evoke my emotions. I am caught up in my subject and am convinced that nature is
not distinct from man. In celebrating the landscape, I hope I can also celebrate man."
knowing that eyes are not enough. I wish for total immersion: touch, smell, sound,
and the awareness of the swift flight of the sun. To paint is to participate, to extend
one's senses, to work in sympathy with an utterly mysterious cosmos. My canvases
are not productions: they are imperfect recordings of a series of happenings."
"The more I paint, the more I become convinced that the greatest mysteries lie in the
common light of day - a weed patch, the mid-western landscape, the polluted but
still-living earth. In the "art world," landscape painting is generally considered
passe`. I remain oblivious to this world and paint such places that most strongly
evoke my emotions. I am caught up in my subject and am convinced that nature is
not distinct from man. In celebrating the landscape, I hope I can also celebrate man."
Robert Sudlow Early 2005
"My original intent was to be a biological illustrator. As a very poor student at The University of Kansas, I drew pickled reptiles
to keep myself in school. Mercifully, I came under the influence of Albert Bloch. I took whatever traditions I could digest and
forgot what didn't set well. This didn't always fit well with the art fashions and I had some difficulty both as a teacher and artist. I
took the quest very seriously. All my readings, my love of natural world and music, I tried to turn into paint. In the beginning I was
influenced by the styles of other European master painters. But, as time elapsed I found my own distinct style of painting that
best connected me to nature and forces around me. Nature is a screen upon which I cast my dreams and has a sense of privacy.
Even though Kansas was in my blood, I went to northern California in the summer months and to Europe every sabbatical I could
manage. But, almost unknown to me, the visual metaphors of Kansas landscape grew stronger and its common places more
haunting. It became a part of my Identity."
"Until the sixties, most of my paintings were done from places and drawings. Landscapes were usually completed in my studio.
Many of the paintings were abstracted patterns taken from nature. Eventually I found that my paintings were becoming contrived
and lifeless. Going outside and painting directly, while causing a lot of confusion, opened up a new world of possibilities for me.
The visual richness and confrontation with time, place and weather can drive a painter mad. The idea that one can tackle the
infinite is presumptuous. For me photography is also vain. My only alternative is total immersion and in the end a trust in a
extension of awareness. Yes, I become confused; but, I never fail to sense immensities and I know the quest is endless."
"While I have painted from Greece to California, I think Kansas has given me my most delightful problems. Where else can one
find at least five types of weather in a single day? I have come to realize the world as a kaleidoscope of changes. Nature has an
order quite beyond formulas. Painting out doors has been a release. It is my only way to let go and to celebrate the mysterious
presence of nature. I don't like to paint standing in snow drifts, and the winds are maddening. Yet, they certainly make for an
authentic experience. Often I find that the excitement keeps me warm. Renewal is in loosing oneself. I think of no more moving
sight than sunlight through a thistle head or pale winter grass blazing with a glory I can never paint. These ordinary things lead
me and my canvasses get tangled in roadside ditches, weeds, and brambles. Perhaps all art pretexts fail in the midst of natural
forces; at best it is an uncomfortable confrontation, paint turns to sludge and the best laid plans fall apart. I know that sometimes
my head gets full of the sky and the earth is transformed. Perhaps this is why I am always painting."
"Watercolor Painting was my first love. It was portable and fresh. Watercolor seemed an ideal medium for spontaneous
discovery. I've never completely abandoned watercolors, however in time I found the technique carried me into new situations, I
needed to explore more in depth."
" Lithography has been a welcomed discipline. In the lithography process the image is drawn upon grained limestone, then
through a very tedious process the image is transferred onto paper. The stones are heavy, seductive and not very forgiving.
Perhaps foolishly I have attempted to take some of these monsters out into the landscape. Learning the medium has been slow
but yet challenging."
"The Oil on Paper paintings are completed out doors. They are attempts to get in between almost invisible colors and are done
within a few hours. The results are an ongoing diary of experience. It is very necessary for me to make senses real and keep up
with forever changing surroundings. I use whatever material which is compatible with this mysterious quest."
Robert Sudlow
to keep myself in school. Mercifully, I came under the influence of Albert Bloch. I took whatever traditions I could digest and
forgot what didn't set well. This didn't always fit well with the art fashions and I had some difficulty both as a teacher and artist. I
took the quest very seriously. All my readings, my love of natural world and music, I tried to turn into paint. In the beginning I was
influenced by the styles of other European master painters. But, as time elapsed I found my own distinct style of painting that
best connected me to nature and forces around me. Nature is a screen upon which I cast my dreams and has a sense of privacy.
Even though Kansas was in my blood, I went to northern California in the summer months and to Europe every sabbatical I could
manage. But, almost unknown to me, the visual metaphors of Kansas landscape grew stronger and its common places more
haunting. It became a part of my Identity."
"Until the sixties, most of my paintings were done from places and drawings. Landscapes were usually completed in my studio.
Many of the paintings were abstracted patterns taken from nature. Eventually I found that my paintings were becoming contrived
and lifeless. Going outside and painting directly, while causing a lot of confusion, opened up a new world of possibilities for me.
The visual richness and confrontation with time, place and weather can drive a painter mad. The idea that one can tackle the
infinite is presumptuous. For me photography is also vain. My only alternative is total immersion and in the end a trust in a
extension of awareness. Yes, I become confused; but, I never fail to sense immensities and I know the quest is endless."
"While I have painted from Greece to California, I think Kansas has given me my most delightful problems. Where else can one
find at least five types of weather in a single day? I have come to realize the world as a kaleidoscope of changes. Nature has an
order quite beyond formulas. Painting out doors has been a release. It is my only way to let go and to celebrate the mysterious
presence of nature. I don't like to paint standing in snow drifts, and the winds are maddening. Yet, they certainly make for an
authentic experience. Often I find that the excitement keeps me warm. Renewal is in loosing oneself. I think of no more moving
sight than sunlight through a thistle head or pale winter grass blazing with a glory I can never paint. These ordinary things lead
me and my canvasses get tangled in roadside ditches, weeds, and brambles. Perhaps all art pretexts fail in the midst of natural
forces; at best it is an uncomfortable confrontation, paint turns to sludge and the best laid plans fall apart. I know that sometimes
my head gets full of the sky and the earth is transformed. Perhaps this is why I am always painting."
"Watercolor Painting was my first love. It was portable and fresh. Watercolor seemed an ideal medium for spontaneous
discovery. I've never completely abandoned watercolors, however in time I found the technique carried me into new situations, I
needed to explore more in depth."
" Lithography has been a welcomed discipline. In the lithography process the image is drawn upon grained limestone, then
through a very tedious process the image is transferred onto paper. The stones are heavy, seductive and not very forgiving.
Perhaps foolishly I have attempted to take some of these monsters out into the landscape. Learning the medium has been slow
but yet challenging."
"The Oil on Paper paintings are completed out doors. They are attempts to get in between almost invisible colors and are done
within a few hours. The results are an ongoing diary of experience. It is very necessary for me to make senses real and keep up
with forever changing surroundings. I use whatever material which is compatible with this mysterious quest."
Robert Sudlow