Solace on the Hill 2022

Carrie Graber made Solace on the Hill using oil paint, and what strikes me is the artist’s attention to edges. I can only imagine what it was like to paint this, the challenge of creating a composition of contrasting architectural details. The crisp lines of the architecture are contrasted by the natural forms of the surrounding landscape. Look at the way the edges of the building frame the sky, and how those horizontal planes meet the hills in the distance. There’s a real sense of depth in this painting. The artist must have been thinking about how she could make the painting recede in a believable way by manipulating planes of depth. The architectural details in the work call to mind the paintings of Wayne Thiebaud, where the artist also considers the interplay of sharp angles and curved lines. It's so cool how artists are in this ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other, and leaving us with these totally amazing works.