Excerpted from Art Journey America: Landscapes.
Heaven on Earth, watercolor, 21 x 29. Collection of Elaine Diamond.
Douglas Wiltraut is a painter from Pennsylvania who works primarily in egg tempera and watercolor. The president of the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic for over twenty years, he is also a member of the American Watercolor Society and the Philadelphia Watercolor Society, and an honorary member of Allied Artists of America, Audubon Artists and the Salmagundi Club in New York City.
What inspired this painting?
The sheer beauty of the scene of the old white headstones standing amidst the beautiful carpet of mountain pinks was striking. The added symbolism of the tattered flag reminds us of those who have sacrificed to preserve our landscape.
Why is American landscape painting important today?
As time passes, the landscape slowly changes due to both the forces of nature and the development of mankind. It’s therefore important that artists provide us with a visual record of the ever-changing landscape.
How do you plan your compositions?
Having always relied on instinctual composition, I find that here the perspective of the rows of headstones lead the eye to the sun-bleached flag whose faded colors once again remind us of the passage of time, something I love to depict.
What galleries represent you?
Cavalier Galleries, Greenwich, CT, and Nantucket, MA; www.douglaswiltraut.com.
Featured in January 2012.