Altamira Fine Art Scottsdale is pleased to present Natural Rhythms, a new exhibition for Theodore Waddell.
Please join us Thursday, February 6th during the Gold Palette ArtWalk, for an Artist Reception from 6:30-9pm. The artist will be in attendance.
Like the land itself, Theodore Waddell’s paintings change with prolonged exposure. New elements emerge; layers of meaning accumulate. In reference to this aspect of his art Waddell says, “I want my work to constantly change, with the hope that it will be different each time I see it as well as for others who view it.”
A sense of place inspires his paintings and thus the titles he assigns to each scene: a bison herd takes on historical resonance when placed within the man-made setting of Clark Canyon in Montana. “I try to translate the narratives of land, seasons, mortality, grandeur, and human/animal interdependence into our own context,” he says. “I concentrate on the vagaries of colors and times, attempting to understand and capture what I see.”
Such concentration requires surrendering plan to process, allowing his heart and hand to work in harmony. The resulting compositions evoke essential elements of land and life without veering into didacticism. “I prefer work that is open-ended and doesn't attempt to lead me in a certain way and determine all of the conclusions.”
Hard-won humility: as a Montana native and cattle rancher, he migrated east to study painting at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Wayne State University before returning to the Western plains. Influenced by Abstract Expressionists, he layers his landscapes with atmospheric modernism, focusing on scenes informed by his experience, free of idealism. “Since the beginning of my career, I have sought a vision of the West that elevates itself above the status of cowboy art,” he says. “I hope to convey this vision in a way that draws the viewer into my world.”