a nice helping of low-chroma whites, blacks and grays.  The color is rich and mysterious and a critical factor for establishing the emotional temperature of the work.  If these paintings suggest dreamscapes it is the color that sets the mood and makes it possible. On this basis alone I’m reminded of imaginative children’s book illustration which is no pejorative observation. The texture accomplishes two things.  The first is to support the landscape narrative by assisting the references to natural elements like water, foliage and clouds.  It is also a key factor in countering the dominance of deep space which helps flatten out the forms.

Gregory Amenoff, Point Braque, 2006, oil on panel, 38 x 42 in

Gregory Amenoff, Tarn, 2006, oil on panel, 24 x 28 in

So what is the artist’s intent for these paintings?  I suspect he has a great time making them which is objective enough for any artist.  There is such pure joy at work here which Amenoff is more than happy to share with his viewers.   But these are not simply paintings about the pleasures of poetically interpreted landscapes. They go deeper to engage you on a couple of levels - as both lyrical expressions and as a specific reality about what painting is and does.  In other words, they feed the emotions but simultaneously engage the mind. Only through painting can you arrive at these particular crossroads of feeling and intellect which shifts significantly from one painting to the next.  If the subject matter is landscape the content is where and how painting transports you there.