God's Country 1995

Eyvind Earle made 'God's Country' with an incredible eye for detail. Look at how the dark brooding colours of the forest meet the tranquil blues of the mountains and sky, and imagine the artist layering all these forms with a tiny brush, one by one! I love thinking about how an artist like Earle conjures the real world. I can imagine him out there, in a landscape like this, studying every tree and rock, then back in the studio building up the painting. This is not just a surface, it's a constructed space, a little like theatre design. The tree in the foreground is beautifully rendered, its intricate branches creating a complex web of lines. It makes me think of the graphic landscapes of Japanese art. Each element seems carefully placed, contributing to a sense of harmony and balance. And the tiny horse in the distance is like the smallest gesture, giving the scene a sense of scale and wonder.