River Through the Hills

A wonderfully expressive abstract landscape dated 1975, in which the natural world has been distilled into sweeping passages of colour and energetic, gestural brushwork, executed in oil onto board.

The composition appears to depict a river or rushing water cutting through a broad, hilly landscape, its pale, winding form drawing the eye from the foreground towards the distant horizon. Rather than describing the landscape literally, the artist breaks it into bold, interlocking planes, giving the scene an almost abstract quality while retaining a strong sense of place and movement.

The palette is particularly striking, balancing fresh olive and grassy greens, earthy browns, burnt orange and flashes of turquoise against the cool whites, powder blues, lilacs and soft pinks of the water. Deep passages of inky navy and near-black provide dramatic contrast and structure, lending the composition considerable depth.

Paint has been applied with confidence and spontaneity, with broad, directional strokes and areas of thick impasto following the contours of the landscape. Sweeping marks converge through the centre of the composition, creating a wonderful feeling of movement, while visible ridges of paint and occasional finer linear marks give the surface a rich, tactile quality.

This oil on board is presented in a complementary wood frame comprising a slim white inner border surrounded by a broader soft grey outer frame. Both the painting and frame are in excellent vintage condition.