Arkansas Weather Report — Daniel Coston Art

Artist Statement: It is a cliche 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 it’s 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.—Daniel, 2014

The Green Trim

Mondrian's Barn

Mondrian's Barn

Late in the Day

Late in the Day

Warped by Time

Bouquet of Pipes

Bouquet of Pipes

Broke Back Store

Broke Back Store

In the Updraft

Trumpets Blowing

Trumpets Blowing

Sunrise

In the Deep Green

In the Deep Green

The Bayou's Out

The Bayou's Out

That Barn

Retired

Mt Zion and the Storm

Mt Zion and the Storm

Time to Fly

A Break in the Pines

A Break in the Pines

Hope Springs

Friendship Baptist Church

Friendship Baptist Church

Dust in the Wind

Dust in the Wind

Time to Leave

Yellow and Green Fields

Yellow and Green Fields

Corner Post

Coming Apart

Delta Doric

Dead End Lane

Late to the Roost

Late to the Roost

The Flag's Still Up

The Flag's Still Up

The Green Trim

The Green Trim

Mondrian's Barn

Mondrian's Barn

Late in the Day

Late in the Day

Warped by Time

Warped by Time

Bouquet of Pipes

Bouquet of Pipes

Broke Back Store

Broke Back Store

In the Updraft

In the Updraft

Trumpets Blowing

Trumpets Blowing

Sunrise

Sunrise

In the Deep Green

In the Deep Green

The Bayou's Out

The Bayou's Out

That Barn

That Barn

Retired

Retired

Mt Zion and the Storm

Mt Zion and the Storm

Time to Fly

Time to Fly

A Break in the Pines

A Break in the Pines

Hope Springs

Hope Springs

Friendship Baptist Church

Friendship Baptist Church

Dust in the Wind

Dust in the Wind

Time to Leave

Time to Leave

Yellow and Green Fields

Yellow and Green Fields

Corner Post

Corner Post

Coming Apart

Coming Apart

Delta Doric

Delta Doric

Dead End Lane

Dead End Lane

Late to the Roost

Late to the Roost

The Flag's Still Up

The Flag's Still Up

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