Critique of V. Douglas Snow's Yellow Valley

Regarding his desert paintings, Utahan painter V. Douglas Snow said, “These paintings are far more literal than the uninitiated might suppose; and my mind and my emotions move freely between painting essentially what I see and intensifying what I feel.” One such desert painting is Yellow Valley which is displayed in the “American Dreams” exhibit of the BYU Museum of Art. In Snow’s quote above he implies a dual purpose in creating his work as well as dual affect it can have on the viewer. Snow uses this duality to appeal to his audience on both a superficial and a profound level. In the process he successfully challenges the intellect and the emotions of the viewer.

Note: Due to a limited availability of background information regarding this artist or this piece, this paper will necessarily comprise of more formalist than contextualist analysis; however, valuable insights can still be obtained from this arguably limited view.

Painted in 1977, Yellow Valley is a contemporary piece that fits under the category of modernism, but perhaps a more informative genre would be abstract impressionist landscape. At an initial glace, this piece seems to be nothing more that a mystifying explosion of soft color. However, with closer scrutiny hints of nature begin to emerge. One can start to see images that resemble mountains, trees, and clouds, but they vague so they require effort to find. These combined styles tell us much about the nature of human beings. We strive to find balance between the known and the unknown, or between the organized and the chaotic. In the journey to that balance we find purpose. The journey to the balance of the previously mentioned painting genres requires seeing, thinking, and feeling.

To create this piece, Snow utilized oils on canvas. This medium provided Douglas with the needed color palette and texture capabilities. Its universal acceptance and general availability afford Snow a powerful influence on the viewing public. Through this medium, Snows achieves a great deal with Yellow Valley.

Snow’s palette consists of soft, pastels and earth tones. The most frequent colors are greens, yellows, and white with smaller, but noticeable amounts of blues and pinks. The fact that the palette is limited helps it to be initially soothing and pacifying. The lines in this work are very soft as well. There are many broad, heavy, blended brush strokes. There a more or less horizontal line at the horizon. All these things add to the comforting effectвЂ"this piece could easily appear in a doctor’s office. Yet this piece is complex enough to stir serious thoughts and emotions.

The texture of the painting is intentionally varied. Much of the canvas is smooth, but there are many ridges and raised blotches of dried paint. This is analogous to the texture of a mountainous desert. In such a place rocks, dirt, sand, bushes, etc. all work together to provide a rich “feel” of the outdoors. This texture of the painting practically invites an interactive tactile experience, but the museum forbids touching. This is symbolic of how our busy lives restrict the frequency and depth as which we can experience all aspects of this great world we line in. Furthermore, the most texture in the painting seems to be in the clouds, which gives the strongest invitation to touch something that cannot be touched in our actual lives. This suggests that perhaps we will never be fully involved with nature the way we ought to be.

Yellow Valley’s organization and composition reveal much about the message and impact of the painting. This is a landscape, but the horizon is much higher