Reuben Tam - American 1916-1991

I have recently "discovered" the abstract landscape expressionist paintings of Reuben Tam. Although born (and died) in Hawaii he spent much of his life painting and exhibiting in New England & the eastern US.

He was a beloved teacher at The Brooklyn Museum Art School, where he encouraged his landscape students to explore the geology beneath as well as the topography of the land. Another lovely pairing of science & art.

It has been difficult finding information and images...if anyone has other sources, please let me know. I will be looking for him in museum collections; Met, Whitney, Brooklyn in NY; Lowe in Miami, Smithsonian in DC, Farnsworth, Reading (PA) and San Diego.

Back in the Studio

Foggy Break is a studio painting done from my own photo references and recollections. I started the year trying to include water in most of my paintings...so it has been a dominant theme in both my plein air and studio work. I used a limited palette to convey the mood of an early day breaking through the fog. This is one of my favorite surfaces; Art Spectrum Colourfix paper with a mix of soft pastels....I have and use most every high quality brand available...and operate on the theory that one can never have too many pastels. They may look disorganized on my table, but I keep all my boxes sorted for value. Hard, soft, in between, French, Dutch, Australian, US made, red, green yellow, purple all jumbled together with others of their same value.

This 12 x 16 painting is being shown at The Butternut Gallery in Montrose through the holidays. 570-278-4011, along with French Broad & Roadside Flora...not ladies of ill repute as their names coincidentally might suggest.