Puanani Maunu

What is an abstract landscape? I think it is a painting which captures an essence of a place so one might relate it to a sense that once captured their heart.

We live in an abstract environment full of starkness, contradictions, wonder and delight. I've recently painted several bstract landscapes, which merge my abstract background with plein aire landscapes.

I learned to paint from Carlos Loarca, an abstract muralist in San Francisco, who taught me to see our environment as a series of lines, intersections, layers and light. I only started painting landscapes in 1999 and have been on a path applying abstract principles to landscape paintings.

The very nature of our abstract environment demands we synthesize this information very quickly, otherwise, how could we appreciate the way light chooses to intensify one area of the landscape with a color so intense it is unattainable, but not another? Or windblown patterns of dark and light across the water? Or lines and shadows of reflections on ice?

It has been quite a wonderful unveiling in merging the two styles. It is not a new idea as many artists have traveled this path but for each artist it is a personal sojourn. I find much joy in painting and will continue to explore the combination of the abstract and landscape styles.

Photo courtesy of Cristine Crooks