Three Trees, Two Clouds (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- This landscape painting was inspired by views near the Haw River in Alamance County, North Carolina.
- John Beerman is a contemporary landscape painter from Greensboro, North Carolina.
- Beerman’s paintings often depict peaceful, realistic-looking nature scenes. He is best known for his landscape paintings of mountains and rivers in his home state and New York’s Hudson River Valley.
- A group of Hudson River School artists known as the American Luminists influenced Beerman’s work. Their landscape paintings, like Beerman’s, capture the effects of light and a sense of tranquility.
Learn More
Three Trees, Two Clouds was inspired by the natural scenery along the Haw River in Alamance County, North Carolina. The Haw River is a tributary, or a stream that flows into, the Cape Fear River. It begins in the northern part of the state and travels south for approximately 110 miles. In this painting the artist has done more than depict a Haw River landscape. He has created a dreamlike, symmetrical scene in which two matching clouds hover between a trio of tall trees. The colors and textures of the earth and the sky seem to blend together.
John Beerman’s paintings depict surreal yet lifelike nature scenes. Beerman is a North Carolina native who grew up in Greensboro. He is known for creating landscape paintings of different areas of North and South Carolina, the Hudson River in New York, ranches in Texas, and hillsides in Tuscany, Italy.
Beerman began his artistic journey at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in New York and continued his education at the Rhode Island School of Design. The American Luminists (an offshoot of the mid 19th-century Hudson River School of artists) were an early influence on Beerman’s work. They focused on the effects of light and creating a sense of tranquility in their landscape paintings.
Beerman’s unique painting style incorporates light brushstrokes and a limited color palette. He says he finds inspiration in the calmness of nature and what he can add to nature scenes by using his imagination. His landscape paintings depict different seasons, types of weather, and effects of sunlight.
I’ve become more interested in . . . not about seeing new landscapes, but in seeing landscapes through new eyes.
John Beerman
tags: light, weather, rural, seasons
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers
- Visit Beerman’s website to read his artist bio.
- Read an article about the artist.
- Read an article about the Haw River.
Resources for Students
- Visit a virtual gallery of Beerman’s landscape paintings.
- Watch a video to learn a useful tip on painting landscapes.
Images
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Three Trees, Two Clouds
An oil painting depicting three trees in a field against a deep pink sky. There is one full image tree in the center of the painting and half of a tree on either side of it. Two fluffy white clouds float above and between the three trees.