Terrill Knaack

My artwork consists of three types of images; plein aire landscapes, easel paintings of landscapes and wildlife, and most recently, color photography. Each of these means of expression has its own unique potential. They are like different languages. Each of which can reveal something more clearly than the other. They are all of equal importance in my work.My paintings reveal brush strokes. I often range from extreme precision to open brushwork in a single painting. Making a play on the luminance of pigments in oil is key to my expressive use of the medium. Plein aire technique is an essential part of all my landscape work.All of my work is based on my personal experience. Nothing rings true that has not been sensed, felt, as well as thoughtfully considered. Increasingly the approach I use is based on greater and greater receptivity, not imposing myself, but finding something new and exciting where I least suspected it.The language of light is essential to my work both in what I receive from nature and how I express it through my art. My work on all levels is an attempt to understand man's relationship to nature. The essential inquiry is that of trying to reveal the essential elements of an ecological conscience.