Doug Moulden spends a good bit of his time trying to find an image. It’s not so much what he paints, but more how he paints it. Painting for him is not an attempt to document the world as it appears but an opportunity to recreate the world. “I’m not a reporter, I’m a poet.” Doug prefers landscapes that have no human figures in them. The empty landscape encourages the viewers to place themselves metaphorically into the painting. Doug is also drawn to quiet moments. Paintings struggle to convey motion, but excel at stillness.
Trained as a sculptor, Doug’s paintings are as much sculpture as they are flat imagery. Starting with plywood that he warps and shapes, he adds many layers of acrylic paint until the surface is thick, rich and highly varied. Sometimes he carves into it, and often uses material such as sand, stone, or string; anything to add more texture and substance. The end result is a heavy, rich, textured surface that adds shape and sculptural qualities to his paintings. It becomes difficult to separate what is two dimensional from what is sculptural.
Showing at Eastside Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, MD weekends through September.
First Saturday opening 5pm-7pm, exhibit runs September 3-25, gallery hours 1pm-5pm Saturday and Sunday.