Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art presents an exhibition of the work of artist David Yapp showing April 16 through June 13 in the Reception Gallery at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.
"David Yapp: California Landscapes" features plein air (painted outdoors) landscape and seascape paintings.
"This exhibition includes landscape paintings using oils, featuring sweeping views of the California coast in heavy impasto paint with fine brushwork," said John Handley, director of galleries for SFA. "I personally met this artist five years ago and have been closely watching how his paintings have developed over time."
Growing up in rural southern England, Yapp spent his youth exploring and observing nature and the changing scenery, seasons and weather patterns in his home county of Wiltshire.
"The landscapes and towns of the county are rich in history and have fed the artistic hearts and minds of artists such as Sir John Constable and J.M.W. Turner and writers such as Thomas Hardy and George Herbert," Yapp said.
Since moving to California in 2001, Yapp predominantly paints plein air, directly on location, working in oils. He uses a combination of palette knives and brushes. The paint is applied using thin passages of color and thick impasto. Often this is further worked into with a scraffito technique, which means scratching back the paint to reveal the tinted ground of the canvas beneath, Yapp explained. This may then have further paint applied to create a multi-layered relief to the painting.
"The application of the paint in this way enables me to create a sense of depth and movement within the painting and to capture what is to me the essence of a particular landscape and my emotional response to it," he said.
An artist's reception for "David Yapp: California Landscapes" is planned for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at the art center. The exhibition is sponsored in part by the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts, Nacogdoches Junior Forum and Hampton Inn. All exhibitions, gallery talks and receptions are free.
For more information, call (936) 468-1131. The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St.