Piece of the Week: “Distant Hills”

This week’s feature piece, titled “Distant Hills” is composed of a distinctly wintry palette of grays and purple, with hints of brown in the foreground indicating that life has long since left. Despite the clouds brewing above, this piece has a stillness about it. The blades of grass below stand at attention, awaiting the storm. If they are bending at all, it is more out of submission to winter’s approach than the encroaching storm.

Perhaps it’s just Tennessee on the mind, but something about the grey skyline and purple haze in this piece suggests the rolling foothills of the Smoky Mountains. A swath of brown at the canvas’ bottom left corner suggests a rutted out dirt road leading only David knows where. The white specks, dotting the canvas, are the heavy flakes of what will be winter’s first real snow. The ground is soon to be blanketed in white, but for now all is quiet as it prepares for the cold to come.

Although snow is less common in these parts of the U.S., David spent his early years as an artist in Pennsylvania where the term “whiteout” is used almost yearly. As with all the pieces in David’s collection “Distant Hills” is left open ended – even the title gives little away. The interpretation described above could be fantastically off base. And if it is, David would probably just smile knowingly and nod in approval anyway.