Philip Koch
A former abstract artist, Philip Koch was inspired in his early 20’s to turn to painting realist landscapes after viewing the work of the famous American artist Edward Hopper.
"More than anything else, what I learned from Edward Hopper was be relentless in pursuing just the right source. To bring a painting to life, its imagery has to exactly coincide with those mysterious inner pieces of the artist's personality that are calling out to be painted."
There is a video interview on YouTube which shows him painting and discussing his motivations.
"The vividness of living is something I'm trying to express in my paintings."
Shown here (right) is a pastel done on location in Edward Hopper's studio on Cape Cod. Koch has completed 14 residencies at the house Hopper designed as a summer home & studio in 1934.
"For me as a long time painter, discovering pastel was a huge shot in the arm color-wise."
His blog discusses a wide variety of topics including history, philosophy, technique and personal "observations on life as a landscape painter in the 21st century."
"Paintings are about our experience of reality, but we traverse both the landscape of the earth and the terrain of our internal emotional life."
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