Red Barn and Tree Snow 1976

Eyvind Earle's "Red Barn and Tree Snow" is made with flat opaque colours and crisp sharp lines, which creates a kind of stylized simplicity. Look at the tree; it's not just a tree, it’s this incredible tower of vertical lines, interrupted by these dollops of bright snow. The colours are so controlled, so graphic, that the textures almost feel printed, even though it’s a painting. The heavy black branches reach out against a cool, twilight sky, and that red barn in the background has this amazing glow, so warm, so inviting. Then, there’s the snow, clinging to everything, softening the edges just so, but still rendered as these chunky, almost geometric shapes. I'm reminded of the graphic sensibility of someone like Charley Harper, but with a touch of the transcendental like Agnes Martin. It’s about seeing the world distilled down to its most potent forms, and feeling the sublime in something so simple. It reminds us that less can definitely be more.