ArtistsNetwork.com 21O
ne of the strongest ways
in which a painting can
intrigue is through
restraint—the sense that information
is being withheld and that drama is
being underplayed. Hints and sugges-
tions often engage the viewer in a way
that complete disclosure and spectac-
ular displays never do.
Th is is Joel Popadics’ strategy.
He renders landscapes with a quiet
simplicity, paring shapes and forms
to the point of transparent clarity
and then painting them with subtly
judged values. With this approach,
it’s scarcely surprising that the artist
is at his best in foggy weather, in
which complex elements are reduced
to luminous outlines and the details
largely vanish. Shrouded in mist, the
landscape takes on curious properties
where recognition can be diffi cult and
forms can loom enigmatically.Following the Allure
of Fog & Mist
Popadics’ paintings brilliantly evoke
the atmosphere as they engage in
the formal interplay of shape, identity
and the deep aerial perspective
created by forms enveloped in fog.
“I love fog and mist,” he says. “I’m
attracted to their serenity and peace-
fulness. I love to set up my easel and
be enveloped in these elements. Fog
reminds me of an old black-and-white
Sherlock Holmes movie in which the
action is set in mist—something that
added extra suspense to the fi lm.
“On an artistic level, I like how it
simplifi es and obscures detail,” the
artist continues. “It reduces objects
to simple shapes and adds a sense of
mystery to my work.”
As much as Popadics fi nds atmo-
spheric weather conditions exciting,
he says that painting outdoors in
foggy weather presents its fair share
of challenges. “Th e damp air can really
slow down the drying time,” he says.A Maine Morning
(watercolor on paper, 22x28)