Daniel Coston » “Arkansas Weather Report” Exhibition

Daniel Coston’s “Arkansas Weather Report” opened March 7th at Cantrell Gallery in Little Rock, Arkansas, and ~~will continue through~~Â closed April 26th.Â Cantrell Gallery is located at 8206 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, AR. Gallery hours are Monday ”“ Saturday, 10-5:00.Â Call (501) 224-1335 for questions or directions.

Though most of the paintings have sold, you can click here to view the web gallery for the exhibition. Daniel has several additional works at Cantrell Gallery still available!

Artist Statement

“It is a clichÃ© that if you don’t like the weather in Arkansas, just wait until tomorrow because it will change. In this show, the weather will change when you step to the next painting. “Arkansas Weather Report” reflects the natural variability from day-to-day, hour-to-hour, painting-by-painting.

As an artist, I record southeastern Arkansas through my landscapes. Quite often the scene emphasizes the architecture found throughout the region. Seemingly, that gives the paintings a historical aspect; however my intent is to convey the region as it exists in the present.

The paintings in “Arkansas Weather Report” represent a subtle shift from the scenes of my previous exhibitions even though the subject matter is much the same. I started these paintings in 2013 and as the year progressed, I noticed that I was including the weather more so than in the past. A change that began accidentally became more intentional. I focused on depicting the full complement of Arkansas weather and its impact on the landscape, from flood to drought, hot to cold, dusk to dawn. Atmospheric conditions, clouds and sunsets were once relegated to the background, but in this new body of work they are now front and center, since those things are often our main clues to weather.

There’s another shift at work as well in these paintings. As the years have gone by, I have begun to see things better than I did when I was younger. I see a wider range of values now and therefore, a wider range of colors. (It is always nice to find a positive in growing old!) So, in these paintings I have used this new…to me…skill. It has opened up a much larger artistic vocabulary. Before, I might have painted a generic “daylight”, but now I can see ways to represent not just dawn or twilight but some of the variations of full blown daylight, and the effect it has on an old home place or a deserted roadside gas station.

For me, this collection of work indicates more alertness and awareness on my part. I hope that these paintings will open up new vistas for the viewers as well and an awareness of the atmosphere in which these structures are immersed — we call it, weather.”