Juniper and Half Dome by Richard Wagener

Juniper and Half Dome by Richard Wagener

Juniper and Half Dome

Richard Wagener

Title

Juniper and Half Dome

 
Artist

Richard Wagener

  1944 - PRESENT (biography)
Year
2016  
Technique
woodengraving 
Image Size
6 15/16 x 4 1/4" image 
Signature
pencil, lower right 
Edition Size
27 of 32  
Annotations
pencil dated and editioned; pencil titled on verso 
Reference
 
Paper
ivory Zerkall wove 
State
published 
Publisher
artist 
Inventory ID
RW180 
Price
SOLD
Description

Richard Wagener grew up in southern California, spending time with his grandfather in remote parts of the desert and up in the Sierra mountain range.

Wagener captures the stunning, open isolation of the Sierra mountain range, where high altitudes keep flora to a minimum - and then only to some of the toughest trees and shrubs known to the West. Juniper trees in the Sierras are often twisted and are much stouter than their coastal and lowland counterparts.

In “Juniper and Half Dome” one such specimen sits on an outcropping of granite on the famed Half Dome formation located in Yosemite National Park. A white band of low lying clouds runs through the center of the backdrop, and a cluster of boulders stands at attention just beyond the tree. The viewer might imagine themselves arriving at this peak, alone among the clear mountain air and occasional bird song, observing the world from one of the most stunning vantage points on earth.

Of note regarding his woodengraving technique is his exclusive use of single-lines to create the composition as opposed to multiple-line carving tools, meaning that each line is carved individually.