Philip Carlton

An Exhibition of Paintings by Philip Carlton
October 7 – November 4

Philip Alexander Carlton is a self-taught plein air painter who takes delight in the endless challenge of observational painting. Although his foray into outdoor painting began in the urban midwest, his artistic passion for scale and atmosphere left him painting extensively throughout the western United States before settling in Fruita, Colorado.

His artistic philosophy centers on the belief that painting is just as much about process as it is about product. Consequently, all of his work is started and finished on location, often over multiple days as light and conditions dictate. For Carlton, painting “en plein air” is its own form of expression and is not just a stepping stone towards creating larger works or a means by which to study an environment; creation in nature is at the core of his artistic practice.

Although his chosen subject matter may change with the season and his visual style continues to evolve, his paintings still carry with them the same soul of his early plein air work. They have always served as a visual journal of his life and travels, and as such tell a story which can vary wildly between both the classically grand and the uncomfortably gritty locales that he explores.

Since his transition from midwestern city life to rural living on the Colorado Plateau, Carlton's time behind the easel has increasingly been spent in search of the kind of color and depth that can only be found in the great expanses of the American West. He feels most artistically at home in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, as well the deserts of Utah and Arizona.

Carlton has shown his work on both the east and west coasts, received first-place honors in multiple plein air competitions, and has been featured in Plein Air Magazine.

Image: Philip Carlton, Memories of an Artist