Tanana River

            David Mollett tells the story of standing in the back room of his gallery while a show of his work was hung on the wall.  A patron walks in and says, “Ah, this is a Mollett, never much cared for his work, not much of a blender.”  The point of telling the story to his class is to take advantage of honest critique while you can get it, because rarely will you hear someone speak their mind about your work.  The truth is, he’s not much of a blender.  His bold use of line and lack of blending can be seen upstairs at the Museum of the North in his work, Tanana River. 

The painting depicts the Tanana River.  The Alaska Range can be seen in the background.  Piles of driftwood and the snaking river make up the foreground.  This work quickly caught my attention because I was able to identify it as a Mollett painting, I enjoy his style, and the depicted location brings back a flood of wonderful memories.

            David Mollett employs the liberal use of bold lines in his landscape paintings.  He lays down broad lines of color on top of planes of solid color to achieve a striking likeness.  Though quite simplified, his painting still holds a powerful unmistakable description of its subject.  The cooler tones of blue in the mountains and green in the boreal forest push the background farther into the distance, while the warmer tones of the logs and the sandbars reach out toward the viewer.  He uses his bold lines to guide the viewer throughout the canvas.  Logs point back and forth across the scene, and the river weaves its way slowly toward the mountains.  This painting is quite pleasant to view as you sit and contemplate how such a strong likeness of the location can be achieved from such simple lines.

            As I view this image I can’t help but recall the time I have spent on the banks of the Tanana River.  I think back on summer evenings spent cooling off by jumping in again and again.  I remember skipping rocks there, just to see how far they will go.  I think of the time my brother and I pushed one of those logs in, and rode it a short way in the current, taking turns trying to stand up and balance on it.  It is a place that holds very fond memories for me.  These are the first feelings I have.  As I look longer, I start to think more of its technical merits and feel a deep respect for the man who painted it.  I see some of the things he teaches in his painting, and I feel fortunate to be his student.