About the Artist

Bruce Park has lived and worked in Bozeman, Montana since 1980. He paints both plein-air and in his studio to capture the unique light of the Northern Rockies.
Resume

• Education & Solo/Two Person Exhibitions
• Group & Invitational Exhibitions
• Collections
Artist Statement

My work reflects the beauty and wonder that nature has to offer us through its’ dynamic forms and diverse color.  Living in Montana, with wide-open spaces of land and sky, it is hard not to have it affect you in some way.

I find I cannot copy nature; instead I need to play with the natural forms and color to create my own landscape.  By doing this I believe I can express my true feelings and compliment nature rather than merely reproducing it.  Trying to capture the subtle and harmonious relationships between the natural forms of the earth has proven to be my biggest challenge.

I start by concentrating on the abstract beauty of the landscape, moving and playing with just the shapes of trees, clouds, mountains, until there is some harmony.  Then begins the layering of color.  As the drawing develops I make little attempt to control the textures.  Part of the excitement of working with the pastel is allowing the textures of trees or fields to create themselves; this keeps the piece a mystery to me until completion.

The chalk pastel becomes more diverse the longer I explore with them. working with 20 to 45 layers of color almost any variation of hue can be created, achieving extremely subtle changes to bold contrasts, yet, maintaining an overall harmony.  Unlike painting, a chalk drawing cannot be drastically changed once your halfway through without destroying the paper.  Saturation of the paper with pigment is a limitation, but is also a challenge that drives me to continue to use the pastel.

Like pastel drawings, I use a similar approach in oil painting to capture the interplay between light and abstract form.  Starting first by finding a natural harmony to the shapes present and proceeding to layer colors. 

Over the years the techniques I have described have evolved enough to express my personal “vision” of the world.  Even though my landscapes are more of the mind they are directly influenced from my continual treks through the wilderness.  Even here in Montana, the adulteration of the environment is becoming more prevalent.  I hope the creations I present to you can inspire a sense of preservation, if not just to provoke an awareness.