Eyvind Earle (1916-2000)

Eyvind Earle created images that haunt us, and force us to look for the same magic in life itself. This fusion of realism with design removes his landscapes to a supernatural realm. Large geometric forms predominate; trees pressed flat against the foreground, angular barns, and the receding curves of the horizon. On these forms Earle imposes detail that is both realistic and decorative, hinting here of the Flemish Masters, there of the Japanese printmaker - scored bark, weathered planks, the tracery of shadows. When invited to describe his creative process more fully, Earle speaks in mystical terms. A student of Yoga since the age of 16, he began work for many years by meditating and then rushing to canvas to paint beautiful scenes which appeared to him. "I've found," says Earle "that the wonderful thing about screen printing is the inventiveness you can exercise with it. You can decide to do a thousand things as you print."

A designer, painter and illustrator, Eyvind Earle is noted for backgrounds he created for Disney classic films such as Sleeping Beauty and Lady and the Tramp. He also designed popular greeting cards that utilized more than 500 of his paintings. In 1961, he established his own animation company, and continuously painted landscapes in oil and acrylic, using acrylic before 1971 and oil after that. His most famous paintings are of California mountains and valleys of western Canada. His landscapes are remarkable for their suggestion of distances, land masses and weather moods.