Purple Coastline 1996

Eyvind Earle made this painting, Purple Coastline, with what looks like painstaking detail to both line and colour. It's as though he's describing not just what he sees, but how he sees it. Look at how the layers of purple and lavender create depth in the hills. It’s all about the physicality of the medium – the smooth, almost airbrushed quality of the paint, builds up a dreamy, otherworldly effect. Then, see how the branches of the tree reach out, not just with lines, but with little bursts of foliage. Each one is like a tiny explosion of energy. Earle’s landscapes often have this combination of calm, sweeping space and intricate, almost obsessive detail. You could say that he is influenced by artists like Gustav Klimt, who also combined a sense of grand design with meticulous mark-making. Like Klimt, Earle's work is a reminder that art is never just about what you see, but how you see it, how you feel it, and how you translate that into something new.