Beyond the Detail: Finding Weight, Mass, and Surrender in the Landscape
There is a distinct shift that happens when a painting leaves the quiet environment of the studio and steps into the public light. For weeks, these panels have sat on my drying rack, carrying the physical conversations held between my palette knife, the hand-sanded gesso, and the memories of the places that inspired them.
I am thrilled to share that three of my recent landscape paintings have been curated into the Summer 2026 Juried Art Show at the Johnson Public Library in Hackensack, New Jersey. These works were selected to stand alongside close to 60 pieces featuring local artists across various mediums.
When I began my painting journey in digital art a little over a year ago, I constantly struggled with the temptation to zoom in, burying myself in tiny, superficial details. Switching to oil painting—and specifically moving to palette knives and oversized brushes—was my prison break. Traditional mediums forced me to step back, stop micromanaging, and look at the canvas as a whole.
Through that transition, I developed a style entirely focused on weight.
When I look at a landscape, I am drawn to its longevity and eternal nature. I want to convey the unchanging permanence of a mountain or a waterfall. To do that, I don't just map out light and shadow in a traditional black-and-white Notan format; instead, I look at Notan as a structural blueprint of mass and void. I ask myself: Where does the heavy gravity of this object live, and how is the light interacting with that physical mass?
Before the opening reception next week, I wanted to invite you behind the scenes for a look at the three selected pieces through this lens.
1. High Peaks Study: The Presidential Range
Oil on Cradled Wood Panel | Modified Zorn Palette
This painting is born from the physical challenge of hiking the rugged terrain of the Crawford Path, traversing Mt. Pierce and Mt. Eisenhower. To me, these high places represent journeys and obstacles that mirror life itself—forces opposed, challenges to overcome.
To capture the eternal power of the White Mountains, I relied on a strictly limited palette—anchored by Payne's Grey, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red, and Titanium White. This restraint creates a natural color harmony and a consistent atmosphere across my work. The real beauty of using a knife here was the deliberate loss of control. By loosening the connection between my brain and the canvas, I was able to organically shape the alpine ridges, building a structure that lets the viewer feel the true physical weight of the peak. As a final touch I used a pottery tool to sculpt the Mt. Washington Weather Observatory into the painting, a small detail that was created with an improvised technique.
2. Industrial Eden: Study of the Paterson Great Falls
Oil on Hand-Sanded Gesso Panel
Industrial Eden: Study of the Paterson Great Falls is a landscape of immense, raw kinetic energy colliding with ancient rock. Built on a rigid panel prepared with multiple layers of hand-sanded gesso, this study allowed me to test the structural limits of my technique.
Instead of getting lost in the individual ripples of the water, I used heavy knife work and oversized brushes to sculpt the waterfall as a singular, monumental mass. In this piece, I experimented with expanding my typical palette, carefully mixing in hints of Burnt and Raw Sienna into my palette to capture the deep, atmospheric shadows of the gorge. The result is a texture you can feel—a representation of a natural force that has carved its way through stone for millennia. The rush of the water over powers the stoic history of the basalt rock faces.
3. Lavender Dusk over the Presidential Range
Oil on Panel | Tonalist Landscape Exploration
While Lavender Dusk over the Presidential Range is a quieter, more atmospheric Tonalist piece, it is still entirely anchored by this philosophy of weight and presence. The composition balances heavy, structural masses against open, quiet voids. By allowing the palette knife to dictate the organic flow of the land, I let go of the need for precise replication and instead focused on the enduring, memory-like gravity of the evening sky.
Join Me for the Opening Reception
This juried show is an important milestone in my 2026 Foundation Year as I build an inventory of original works. Because my style is so deeply tied to physical texture and the relief of heavy paint on a panel, these pieces are entirely different when experienced in person versus on a digital screen. The camera simply cannot capture the tactile nature of these three paintings.
I would be incredibly honored to have you join me at the gallery. Let’s look closely at the paint, talk about the trails, and celebrate local art together.
📅 Exhibition Details
Show Dates: June 1 – June 30, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 4th | 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: Johnson Public Library, 274 Main St, Hackensack, NJ 07601
Admission: Free and open to the public
Thank you all for following along with these studio updates on the 1st and 15th of each month, and for being part of this traditional journey. If you can’t make the reception but find yourself in Hackensack this June, please stop by the library to see the heavy surfaces for yourself!
Warmly,
Mark Saunders
Owner & Artist, Just Like Dorothy Did It LLC
