Wyatt Wurtenberger

Reservoir Fishin’
Oil on wood panel
24″ x 24″

Getting out of the House
Oil and acrylic on wood panel
19″ x 24″

Encounter
Acrylic on wood panel
24″ x 48″

Star Gazing
Acrylic on wood panel
19″ x 24″

Goin’ Anywhere
Oil on wood panel
29″ x 24″

Photographs by the artist

It’s impossible to find a landscape untouched by mankind, since you’ll be there. Not only will the landscape you see be dotted with telephone poles and lighted windows, not only will you get there by piloting a machine of metal and plastic, but the very act of perception is humanity as a part of the landscape. 

Perception is our mind’s interpretation of the raw data our senses give it. In a way, all we see has been touched by humanity, as it’s all rendered by our minds and filtered through our personalities. Just as any landscape painting had to be perceived, imagined, and described by a human, our own perception is much closer to the process of painting than that of photography.

I find great beauty in the layers of translation paintings must go through. While photographs directly translate light to form, painting takes a subject and translates it through many processes. The subject is translated through the feelings, experiences, biases, memory, and hands of the artist. As it’s being created, the painting picks up little artifacts and abstractions from each of these unique processes, culminating in something rich with character and full of love. 

In the act of painting you experience the world even deeper. You can focus on and enjoy the journey from experience to memory through paint and on to a surface. These paintings of mine are a celebration of that process.

I can think of no better way to express my gratitude for being able to experience this time and place than to paint it.