Matthew Sievers’ new paintings for the Blue Rain Gallery show Illuminated Expression, includes the vibrant landscape views the artist is known for, as well as his classic teepees. “What makes Sievers’ work so compelling is his ability to paint not just what he sees, but what he feels,” says Leah Garcia, the gallery's marketing director. “Each canvas radiates movement, light and atmosphere.”
While Sievers continues with his same subject matter, he has been employing new forms of application. “I’m experimenting with different mediums to make my oil paint flow, which give it more of a watercolor look in certain areas,” he explains. “I am also adding more abstraction—especially in negative spaces—and more emotional marks. Exploring an abstract version of the Southwest is the overall theme of this body of work.”
The Bells in Cloud Shadow, oil on panel, 48 x 48 in.
Sievers grew up going to local powwows with his father, Gregory Sievers, who had a career painting Native American and Southwest art. “I have always wanted to paint teepees and much of the iconic Southwest imagery that I grew up with,” says Sievers. “Bringing my style into some of these things has been an absolute blast.”
About his painting Sundog,Sievers says, “The square canvas, a triangular teepee and the circles of a sun dog forming in the sky, give such a powerful composition.”
Sundog, oil on panel, 48 x 48 in.
Collectors will also find bold new work like The Bells in Cloud Shadow—a painting depicting the Maroon Bells in Colorado’s White River National Forest. “Typically, paintings of the Maroon Bells lean into how red the color can be,” the artist notes. “What makes this painting unique—inspired by a stormy photo I captured of the mountains—is the placement of these fiery reds in shadow, allowing the sun to brighten the foreground as the texture is built heavier and heavier as it gets progressively closer to the viewer. The distant shapes...give a sense of memory through thin application. I used as many tools as possible to create variety so that the eye does not get bored.”
See Sievers’ new work in person at Blue Rain Gallery’s Durango, Colorado, location from September 4 through 25. A reception will be held on opening day from 5 to 7 p.m. followed by an artist demonstration on Saturday, September 5 from 2 to 4 p.m. —
Blue Rain Gallery 934 Main Avenue, Unit B • Durango, CO 81301 (970) 232-2033 • www.blueraingallery.com
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