Fran Sampson

Red-Yellow Landscape
mixed media on Arches paper
15.5 x 11 in.

For the past two years I have been working on a series of landscape paintings that employ a non-traditional use of space. Whenever one uses a horizon line, there is an expectation of deep space—that the composition will move into the canvas. In this series I purposely try to undermine the traditional illusion of three-dimensional space by using color, marks, and collaged material in a manner that instead moves the composition across the picture plane.
I am interested in the inherent tension resulting from this ambiguous space. I create expressive elements in my landscapes with this dimensional tension as well as the immediacy and physicality of my brushstrokes. Through these elements, my goal is to create an intriguing visual plane that captures not only the lush liveliness of the natural world, but also the human gaze upon this world, and the resulting complexities that arise from our unique experience.