ArtAccess 

Rod Penner exquisitely renders the Texas Hill Country and surrounding Southwest in painstaking detail. Meticulously painting one small section at a time, he slowly develops each blade of grass and layer of bark.

 

Landscapes may be sparse, with a discarded soda can on the ground or paint chipping off the side of a building, but Penner paints objectively, portraying each locale as he finds it while managing to convey the sense of somber isolation and despondent fatigue that quietly resonate through the works.

 

The paintings are based in on-site observation, photographs, and digital video stills, with each painting’s title denoting the subject matter or scene location. The heritage of classic Americana, its haunting and overlapping experiences of isolation, melancholy, consumerism, determinism and hopeful dream come together in Penner’s dynamic compositions.

 

Scenes that exhibit contrasting elements particularly captivate the artist. On his trips to locate material in and around his hometown of Marble Falls, Penner is drawn to the variety of textures and elements found in deserted gas stations and empty parking lots as well as the unique particulars of weather and geography. His ability to capture everything from the warmth of a shining spotlight to the abandonment and impermanence reflected by a puddle on the ground makes these works stand apart. Reveling in the details, these ordinary settings become moments exalted.