Robert Axelrod
My paintings on view at Longyear Gallery are, for the most part, images from the immediate area, the Central Catskills, its fields, streams, mountains, woodlands, barns. I’ve been painting in the Catskills for the past 30 years, mostly in spring, summer, and early autumn.
Why landscape? Why plein air?
Our physical surroundings with their forms and colors, moods and changes, can reflect or inform our inner senses. Often they are of interest in and of themselves. Sometimes one must search for their distinct qualities. Attempting to understand a moment in the seasons is a challenge. Making sense of the natural randomness of a motif and finding its rhythm or mood is a source of great satisfaction for me. Like most natural settings, this region is rich in such possibilities. Discovering these elements on the spot is a pleasure I have not been able to replicate in the studio, so I paint directly out-of-doors, usually in one sitting of two or three hours.
Charter member of Longyear Gallery, Margaretville, NY
Past President of the Brooklyn Watercolor Society, 2001- 2010
Exhibited widely in New York City and other Catskills galleries.