For me, landscape painting is as much about social realism as it is about capturing the ephemeral beauty of sunlight rippling over the leaves of trees. Rather than idealizing vast and unpeopled landscapes, I look for beauty and grounding in the day-to-day landscape in which I live. That landscape is a suburban collage of natural elements framed by boldly painted crosswalks, cars, road signs, telephone wires and sidewalks. 

For my landscapes – most of these are in oil – I generally paint outside (en plein air). Starting with an underpainting of brown, I use rapid brushstrokes and a wet-into-wet technique. With this approach, I strive to celebrate the influence of light on everyday scenes in a single moment in time. 

 I have a degree in Fine Art with an emphasis in Drawing and Painting from Cal State University San Francisco, where I learned from Robert Bechtle’s expertise in photorealism and focus on ordinary subjects. Additionally, I received classical training through the painting program at L’Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence, Italy.   

Josh Powell