Something interesting happens on our cloudy days here in the Northwest.  The grey softens and disguises the landscape so that details are normally left unseen and undercover are brought to the fore.  The paintings featured from Elizabeth Terhune today remind me of those days when the light is at its softest.

Sure, we live for sunny days here in the Northwest.  When the sun shines, the landscape is absolutely breathtaking!  But when the clouds roll in, everything, even the sky becomes quiet.  A hike in the woods on a cloudy day offers a study in contrasts, much like Elizabeth Terhune’s abstract paintings.

Dark tree trunks stand tall, silhouetted against a cloud-filled sky.  Above we see a mass of dark leaves, but the vibrant yellow flowers entwined along our path suddenly pops out at us, happy to have been given a chance to shine.  As in Terhune’s paintings, the complex becomes simple.  Shapes blend into one another but the darkest and brightest of them all demand our attention.

To see more of Elizabeth Terhune’s work, please visit her website.  I’m hoping to take a cloudy day hike or bike ride today.  I’ll be thinking about Elizabeth’s work!

Featured image is In the Realm of Mutability, oil on linen.  All images are via the artist’s website.