A Canadian Sunset by Greg Freedman

A Canadian Sunset, by Greg Freedman seems like a good way to illustrate the waning of our summer season.

There is a simple, directness about this work. We see a flock of Canadian Geese, flying over a large city.  We see the sky, hills in the background and inlets of water. While it may seem that that is about it, there is much more to it – much more.

This is a sense of change at play here. The city below, either has its lights turned on and is preparing for night – or it will soon turn them off as a new day begins.  The geese are flying over an alien environment – either towards the south where they will winter, or towards the north where they will summer. 

There is a lot of contrast in this work, and this heightens its sense of drama. Seven geese over a large city.  There is the play between dark and light, night and day, and the simple beauty of nature over the city below. Greg’s minimal palette emphasizes the contrast.  The broader the variety of colour – the more our visual sense is distracted. I also like the way Greg uses his complimentary oranges and purples to maximize the dramatic power of colour. It makes the picture leap into life and demand our attention.

Greg paints the geese from the dark, shaded side. When you look under the geese  you see the city spread out in a blanket of light.  Interestingly, we see the geese, but we don’t see any people. We see indicators of human life, but we don't see life itself.

This is a work of freedom. The geese dominate the canvas. They dominate humanity, and they dominate the sky. The even fly over the city. On a natural progression we see nature surviving and carrying on irregardless of what mankind does.  They do what they have always done. They are answering, their inbred, genetic, call of life. They are flying towards the light of life.

The viewer cannot help but feel the respect which Greg has for the power of nature.  His seven geese let it be known that no matter what empires we build, no matter how big our tumorous cities may be, in the end, nature can crap on it all and still survive.

Greg’s scores big points for this work.  If you wish to see more of Greg’s paintings please click here  or here  to visit his websites.