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Doug Rugh
View Paintings by Location
Cataumet, MA
Edgartown, MA
Falmouth, MA
Monument Beach, MA
North Falmouth, MA
West Falmouth, MA
Woods Hole, MA
Painting on Location
Small and Large Landscapes
Landscape Commissions
Journal Entries
Doug Rugh's studio is in Cataumet on Cape Cod surrounded by an endless source of inspiration for landscape painting. The artist eschews the use of photographs which, even at their best, aren't able to capture nuances visible to the average eye. Doug believes that spending a few hours in a location under changing conditions is the best way to study optical effects that take place in nature and that a painting is not a snapshot copied dab for dab from a photograph but a collection of observations enhanced by: perception of an infinite number of tones (unlike the camera lens which sees colored darks as black and multiple tints of light as white); a sensitivity to color temperature (otherwise bleached out in photos); the observation of chromatic pure colors (rather than false intensities) and direct observation of depth and three-dimensional texture -- all aspects specific to the genre and a technical command of which is necessary to create a sense of place.
Small to mid-size paintings are created on location with a concentration on observation and study of the landscape: the quality of light, the mood and the time of day. These are then brought back into the studio to create larger works in which formal and aesthetic decisions are brought to bear on the final painting. In essence, the process begins with the scientific and ends with the artistic. Occasionally the end result is an entirely different painting at an entirely different time of day while at other times it remains true to the original inspiration.
The artist gladly accepts commissions to enlarge smaller works or create new works based on a desired location. All enquiries are welcomed. Only a handful of large landscapes are produced each year and collectors are encouraged to ask to be emailed when new works are available.
Entries in the Oil Painter's Journal (click "journal" above) include outdoor painting experiences and sketches (some of which are not visible elsewhere on this web site.)