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Walkwood Album, Walkwood Publishing, Digitalio, Deciduous Naked, Eagereye, Sheltered Passions, Carriage Leaf, TableGraphs and PocketBox Portfolio names, as well as the eyelash, windmill, leaf scroll and pine tree logos are trademarks of RS McWherter. All images and design work are © Copyright 2010 RS McWherter. All rights reserved.

© Copyright 2010 RS McWherter. All rights reserved.

“These are not just pretty calendar pictures.”

    The name Walkwood is, of course, a shortening of the phrase a “walk in the woods.” This theme began as a remembrance of the many hours that my grandfather and I would spend hiking on his wooded property near his home in Pennsylvania. And this theme is just that basic; what one might find on such a day spent with nature. And, that you are more likely to stumble upon the Divine on any footpath through a forest or field than any structure or building consecrated by man.

     But these are not just pretty calendar pictures. If that is what you see, then I would challenge you to look closer. They are not picture-perfect postcards. There is beauty here of course, but not without flaws. Nature is grand, but there are always signs of the decay that signals the continuing cycle of endings and rebirth.  

     There are obvious influences here, including the Hudson River artists and painter Asher B. Durand and the romantics, including Caspar David Friedrich to name a few. And of course, much can be made for the case of how the artwork and writings of Ansel Adams has influenced a generation of artists and established the profession of the fine art photographer.  

     So certainly, there is an attempt here to capture the majesty that nature surrounds us with. However, as a creative artist, it is not my attempt to sequel a landscape movement. Likewise, trying to illustrate grand vistas of primal America untouched by mankind would make such an effort seem folly, or at least dishonest.  

     Young artists are often told to write or illustrate what they know best, so I took this advice to heart. I didn’t grow up in a New World wilderness, an untamed frontier or national park. I was born and raised in the post-industrial Rust Belt of America, with telephone poles, abandoned vehicles and empty factories blocking my viewfinder. But, if I couldn’t find beauty here, in the place of my birth, then I would be forever lost in my journey as an artist.  

     So take a closer look, then. The broken gate, the worn fence, the fallen posts, these are not signs of the destruction of Eden, but more of a reflection of the people who live here. We don’t argue that the hives of bees are un-natural, because this is the nature of bees. Likewise, the debate between mankind verses nature is not found here, as this is the nature of  humans. So, much like the proverbial old pair of shoes left by the door, these are simply the natural remnants of those who call this land home, but rarely have time to stop and look around.

-RS McWherter

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