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INTERVIEW
TODAY’S ARTISTS
T Allen
Lawson
Robin Capon talks to a landscape
artist about the subjects that inspire
him, and how he works with oils
T Allen Lawson
W
Giant
White, oil
on linen,
28x28in.
(71x71cm)
M
ell known for his
sensitive and evocative
landscape paintings, the
American artist, T Allen Lawson,
works with a strong sense of
design, an acknowledgment of the
importance of drawing, and an
appreciation of the traditions of
earlier artists. “My subject matter is
inspired by my immediate
surroundings,” he explains. “But I
have been influenced by many of
the Masters, including the
compositions of Degas and
Andrew Wyeth, for example, the
landscapes of Gustav Klimt, and
the technical craft of painters such
as Vermeer, Velasquez, Memling
and Dürer.”
The subjects that particularly
appeal are those that often go
unnoticed by other people – small,
intimate scenes that have their
own charm and atmosphere;
M Mr Jefferson’s
Study, oil on
linen, 20x14in.
(51x35.5cm)
complete in themselves, yet open
to the viewer’s imagination. “I’m
not sure why I am drawn to
these,” he says. “But I like the
quieter side of nature, especially
subjects lit by the soft, diffused
light that you find early in the
morning or during the late
evening. And in fact recently I
have also enjoyed the challenge of
trying to capture the high, intense
light of midday, when there are
relatively few shadows.”
In the early part of his career, T
Allen Lawson travelled extensively
in the US and western Europe,
painting exclusively on site, and
usually completing each work in a
single session of about three
hours. These paintings had a
wonderful spontaneity, but he felt
that they somehow lacked a sense
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JULY 2009
of the artist and, to achieve this, he
needed more time. Consequently,
he gradually developed a working
process that, while continuing to
rely on direct experience of the
landscape and location studies,
now placed more emphasis on
resolving ideas in the studio.
“My field studies now take 45
minutes at the most,” he explains.
“Rather than producing a finished
painting, I am primarily interested
in recording the colour
relationships. I seldom take any
photographs, but I do occasionally
use an 8mm video camera. I can
play the film back on my monitor
to remind me of what the day was
like, the particular quality of light,
and so on. However, it doesn’t
allow me to project it on the
monitor for any great length of
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time, so I also have to rely on my
memory. I am forced to recall my
feelings and response to the scene,
which I think is far more
important.”
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Fording the
Stream, oil on
linen, 22x24in.
(56x61cm)
Surface qualities
www.painters-online.co.uk
Strong design
“I begin by blocking in the main
shapes with thin washes of colour,
Country
Conversations,
oil on linen,
18x20in.
(46x51cm)
M
In the studio, to create the
resonance of colour and the
different textures and paint
handling effects that are so
distinctive in his work, T Allen
Lawson’s preferred medium is oil
paint. A particular advantage of oil
paint, he finds, is that the surface
qualities can be built up gradually
– in capturing the feeling of grass,
foliage or masonry, for example.
As well, these contrasting textures
enhance the interest and impact of
each painting.
His full colour palette, which is
based on a Rubens’ palette plus
one or two additional colours,
includes ivory black, Indian red,
Indian yellow, cadmium yellow
light, titanium white, cobalt blue,
ultramarine blue, viridian green
and cadmium green. The full
palette is especially useful when
working on site because, with its
warm and cool version of each of
the primary colours, it helps with
the ease and speed of colour
mixing.
However, in the studio, the usual
approach is to work with a more
limited palette, perhaps with just
three colours. And this is
something that T Allen Lawson
recommends. “With a full palette
there can be a temptation to over
mix, and then the colours lose
their purity,” he says. “But with a
limited palette - of ultramarine
blue, either medium or deep
cadmium yellow, and alizarin
crimson - you can mix almost all
of your colours without them
getting muddy. Also, a key point
to bear in mind is that, rather than
any particular colour, it is how the
different colours relate to each
other that is the most important
aspect to consider.”
Usually, T Allen Lawson works
on linen canvas mounted on
board. This is often Clausen,
Belgian linen which is preprepared with an oil ground,
choosing from three or four
different surface textures. Or, it
can be raw linen, which he
prepares himself with a textured
oil-based or white lead ground.
The exact choice depends on the
subject matter and the textures and
other effects that are envisaged. To
help assess the different tonal
values and how the colours relate
to each other, he prefers to work
on a white surface rather than a
tinted one.
He uses a wide range of brushes,
starting with hog bristle brushes –
flats, filberts and rounds, in
various sizes – and continuing
with a few smaller, synthetic or
sable brushes. “It is a good idea to
experiment with different
brushes,” he advises, “for this will
add to your knowledge and
powers of expression with the
various brushmarks and effects
that are possible.
“I do an enormous amount of
preparatory work before starting
on the canvas. Referring to the
field studies, I normally spend a
day or two, perhaps even as long
as a week, refining the content
and composition. For this, I work
in pencil or, more often now, in
watercolour or watercolour and
pastel. Once the idea is resolved, I
redraw it on the canvas. Also, I
write a lot of notes to myself and
refer to these throughout the
painting.”
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which are made from pigment
mixed with lots of turpentine.
Once the big shapes are placed
correctly on the canvas, I start to
break them down into smaller and
smaller shapes, at the same time
refining the drawing and colour
and tonal values. I continually
work back and forth across the
painting, building up the layers
with thicker paint and making
subtle adjustments, but never
losing sight of the fundamental
design. For me, the strength of a
painting is in the abstract design,
the composition.
“An essential consideration is the
paint quality and subtlety within
the big shapes. If that quality is
lost, and the tonal values and
colour harmonies are not judged
carefully enough, then you
fracture the essence and
foundation of the painting, which
is the design. So, during the
painting process you have to
constantly question what is
happening. Ask yourself, for
example: ‘How does the colour I
want compare to those around it –
is it warmer, cooler, lighter or
darker?’ It has to relate to
everything else in the painting.”
Because of the nature of oil paint
and the drying time required
between stages of work, T Allen
Lawson usually has a number of
paintings in progress at the same
time. He may work on a painting
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En Route,
oil on linen,
48x60in.
(122x152cm)
M
LP07 30-32 TA:Layout 1
M South
Thomaston
Church, oil on
linen, 32x26in.
(81.5x66cm)
over a period of months, although
obviously the amount of time
required to complete a particular
idea will vary, perhaps depending
on the subject matter or how the
painting develops. “Finishing a
painting is one of the most
difficult things for an artist,” he
says. “Essentially, it is finished
when you have no more to say,
when you can’t see anything else
to adjust.”
T Allen Lawson’s paintings have
a special strength and beauty; they
are skilful and at
the same time
personal and
emotive. To attain
these qualities
takes a great deal
of time, experience
and dedication, of
course. So how
can those artists new to landscape
painting begin to make some
progress?
“There are two important pieces
of advice I can give,” says the
artist. “First, decide what your
painting is about and keep to
that. If, for example, you are
painting a mountain, make the
mountain large. Or, if you are
fascinated with the clouds, set the
stage – give yourself enough area
of the canvas so that the clouds
can be played out. Second, keep
it simple. Don’t worry about the
details; look for the general
character of the subject. And
remember, keep in mind the
relationship of those three or
four big areas within your
painting. If you can do that, you
will have a strong, successful
piece of work.” LP
T Allen Lawson
studied at the College of Santa Fe, New Mexico; American
Academy of Art, Chicago; and Lyme Academy of Fine Art,
Connecticut. In the US, his work has been featured in solo shows
in Washington DC, New York, Wyoming, California, Connecticut,
Maine and Massachusetts, as well as in many group exhibitions.
In the UK, he is represented by Jonathan Cooper, Park Walk
Gallery (020 7351 0410; www.jonathancooper.co.uk).
His paintings are found in many private and public collections,
including those of the Farnsworth Art Museum; Portland Museum
of Art; Denver Art Museum; Whitney Gallery, Buffalo Bill
Historical Center; and Florence Griswold Museum. In 2008,
T Allen Lawson was chosen to create the White House Christmas
card, and this painting is now part of the White House permanent
collection.
T Allen Lawson has won a number of prestigious awards for his
work, including the Golden Thunderbird Award – Best of Show,
Maynard Dixon Country, 2006; Red Smith Memorial Award,
National Museum of Wildlife Art; John F and Anna Lee Stacey
Scholarship Grant; and Juror’s Choice Award, Artists’ Choice
Award and William E Weiss Award at the Buffalo Bill Historical
Center. He lives with his wife and children in Rockport, Maine, US.
For further information about his work, view the website
at www.tallenlawson.com.
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