Artwork copyright Robert Connell. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Late Afternoon Shadows, 1999

Robert Connell
(American, born 1947)

Location: Carmichael Middle School, Richland

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Late Afternoon Shadows is a painting by artist Robert Connell. It is part of a series of paintings of the Columbia River Gorge supported by an Artist Trust grant in the fall of 1999. The artist used Japanese sumi ink to compose this landscape painting, which he began on location. Bringing the painting into his studio, Connell added color by layering gouache paint using a printmaking brayer. This piece uses the negative space created by exposed, unpainted paper to imply the sky. This technique brings together realistic and abstract elements in his compositions. He notes, “I see the Northwest Landscape as different levels of black shadows. On an overcast day there is very little color in the landscape, basically black shapes against a white sky.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Richland School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Robert Connell is a Seattle-base artist whose landscape paintings are characterized by his use of Japanese Sumi ink to emphasize positive and negative space. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1970.