The vast wilderness has always captured the admiration of artists. From Frederic Edwin Church to Sanford Robinson Gifford and Thomas Cole, the complex beauty of the natural world has kept our attention since we were painting on the walls of caves.
Over the summer, Jim Klein added to his collection of landscape paintings with the work titled “Misty Mountains”, a soft and uniquely composed artwork.
Misty Mountains has a different look than most of your other works; it appears almost watercolor, but you used acrylic paints to paint. How did you achieve this effect? Did you do anything different during the creation process?
Jim: “Misty Mountains” is very distinct. At the time, I was attempting a few different procedures with the paint, with several rounds of dilutions. As with most of the procedure in my art, the move was very spontaneous. In fact, it wasn’t until the painting had dried that I could see and appreciate what was going on. I really enjoyed the look and was very excited by it, but since then I’ve found I’m not able to duplicate the effect exactly. It was special.
If I recall, we had a lot of rain at the time I was working on “Misty Mountains” and it was perfectly encapsulated within the painting. It was a very mystical experience.
You live in Colorado, which is of course home to the Rocky Mountains. Is this painting inspired by or a depiction of a particular place in the mountains?
Jim: Well, “Misty Mountains” is definitely influenced by the rocks and mountains in the Poudre Canyon. I spent a lot of time hiking there throughout my life, so it has always had a lot of influence on me. Other places I’ve visited such as the Buckhorn River Basin and the Cascade Mountains are also in there, adding to my inspiration. As for a specific place represented in the painting, it’s hard to say. I’ve seen images of the Smokey Mountains, but “Misty Mountains” seem more like the mountains in Colorado. This makes a lot of sense as, since I was a little boy, I’ve lived mostly in Colorado.
“Misty Mountain” is a unique painting that is way out of the ordinary and is very special because of that. I consider this painting a gift and I trust it will find itself a good home.
“Misty Mountains” is available for sale! Click here to view on the Online Gallery. Artworks featured above from left to right: “Coppertone“, “Venturi“, “Misty Mountains“, “Wanda 6/20“