Lush Landscapes: The Art Portfolio of Anne French
Anne French learned to paint from her mother and grandmother, along with years of hands-on practice. The artist’s current portfolio centres around lush landscapes painted in oil on wood panels.
I really appreciate the way that Anne celebrates the texture and materiality of the oil paint even in figurative works where the texture of the paint is not necessarily the focus. There’s something about being able to see the artist’s brush marks and the weight and tactility of oil paint that lends a sense of presence to these works.
It’s great to be able to view Anne’s landscape paintings in series, as well. The artist seems to use panels of a fairly uniform size, and seeing all of them next to each other reinforces the idea that these are all first-hand views of a single area and the way it changes with the seasons and the passing months. The artist’s bold use of saturated primary colours builds on that presence, with each colour suggesting a distinct atmosphere and temperature.
