Rocky Coastline

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​Oil on canvas. Painted c. 1969-1972.
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This painting does not have a signature or date. But, we believe it is certainly a Sydna creation.  It matches a similar brush style, reflected in other Sydna landscapes. And, elements of this painting's color palette are cimilar to Sydna's 1971 Sleepy Fishing Village.  Although we're slowly becoming experts on Sydna's artistic evolution, we accept this as a Synda landscape. - especially with its warm, muted tones, sunrise/sunset scene, and inclusion of water.

I am a little fascinated with the ambiguous emotions this painting draws.  The choice of an olive-type color, featured in the piece's lowlights (vs. highlights), invites peaceful, yet...ambiguous feelings.  Continuing to view the painting, I get no sense if it is set in a warm or cool climate.  Is it winter or summer?  Morning or evening? Humid or slightly dry? Desolate or lush topography?  In one moment, I visualize the rocks covered with algae.  And, in the next moment, everything appears desolate - including the larger land mass in the upper-right section.  So, in this respect, I find myself in a purgatory-type of reaction - neither loving nor hating it. But, I do notice when I look at it, I stay for a number of minutes.  I engage with the painting in a continuous attempt to determine if the piece is speaking to me or if I'm trying to give the painting meaning based on my personal emotional state at the time.  

See more of the Landscape Collection here. ​

Sleepy Fishing Village

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​Oil on canvas. Painted in 1971.
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​​This impressionistic ​painting had no records of name given by Sydna. So, the name and description is based on our knowledge of her and her experiences.

What I enjoy about this painting is the way my eye moves through it.  It starts in the lower-half, as my brain seeks structure, and I notice, what appears to be, a working dock - not recreational.  And, due to the boat sizes and waterway, it appears to be smaller in size, although used somewhat heavily.  Then, my eye moves briefly to the hillside in the left foreground, before sweeping back to the water, and beyond the building to the dream-like land beyond the buildings, with it's swirling brush strokes, and recognizing hints of trees with darkened green leaves.  Then, my eye moves back left, and deeper into the painting, noticing the more defined strokes, creating a mountainous-look. And, moving beyond to notice the darkened blue appearance of more distant and larger mountains.  I notice the arc of peach and pink behind the mountains, indicating the subtle beauty of rising or setting sunlight. Although that arc could have a different significance, since they contrast with the shading above.  That's when my I look at the clouds above, the beautiful, wispy feeling of the gray clouds. And, finally, I am pulled to the iridescence of white and silver, the brightest of light trying to peek through the gray skies.

I enjoy the beauty of the work and wonder if it was a Japanese fishing village.  Sydna loved the Japanese culture and visited Japan a few times in her life.  To, me, that would explain the inclusion of a rising sun.  I also look at the two people depicted on the dock and their clothing reminds me of working-class Japanese people.​

The painting, itself, has a similar composition to her 1965 work, Purple Mountains Majesty.  The foreground has less here, in this case some dock pillars.  But, similarities include an obstruction in the medium distance.  On the left here, it's a hillside.  In Majesty, it was a waterfall.  The distant shoreline is somewhat similar between the paintings.  Both works have bodies of water that appear to bend off to the distant left. And, both works, appear to have their light source from the top, left of the painting.

See more of the Landscape Collection here. ​

Purple Mountains Majesty

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​Oil on canvas. Painted in 1965.
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This a very colorful landscape and it's one of my favorites.  The purple mountains seem draw your eye into the picture.  Then, you begin to notice the other colors and scenery - the trees, rocks, grass...the waterfall and the shoreline in the distance, which could be a beach. There is something pristine about the way this scene is presented. I imagine the water to be crystal clear and refreshing, the grass soft on your feet. And, the rocks in the foreground, a perfect place to sit and drink it all in.  It makes me want to take a canoe to the far shore to enjoy a snack before continuing my journey around the bend.​

See more of the Landscape Collection here. ​