River Painter
oil on linen on panel
26 x 30 in.
$2800
Brian Keeler – Artist as Environmental Advocate
This painting is a view of the Susquehanna River in northern Pennsylvania; the location and muse for many of Brian Keeler’s paintings over a decades long career. This oil, a 26 x 30 in. painting on linen is titled River Painter as it includes a depiction of the artist. This island on the river is the muse for several of Keeler’s beautiful evening views of the river, and it is also part of his new Instructional DVD on painting the Susquehanna plein air and in the studio. This new DVD includes four paintings that the student will see from start to finish with all kinds of insights offered.
Keeler is aligning his mission as a painter with the Hudson River School’s leader Thomas Cole for his portrayals of American beauty but equally important for Cole’s environmental activism. In recent years Keeler has become active as an advocate for ecological responsibility in Pennsylvania and New York. His efforts are to meld the aesthetic with environmental, while in defense of the beauty, history and safety of the region and in opposition to the industrial onslaught by the fracking industry.
He organized a symposium in November of 2019 with historians, scientist, poets, musicians and artists for this cause and has presented lectures on this theme in the region.
Keeler has won many prestigious prizes over his career and his work has been featured in two career retrospectives, in 2004 at the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania and another in 2018 at the Roberson Museum in Binghamton, New York. Keeler has traveled extensively in Italy over the past 25 years where he paints and teaches workshops. In recent years his travels have included plein air trips to Ireland, Scotland and many excursions in Maine.
Brian Keeler’s works can be seen at The North Star Art Gallery in Ithaca, NY and The Argosy Gallery in Bar Harbor, Me.
Brian Keeler’s Susquehanna River paintings are part of his current show at North Star Art Gallery in Ithaca, New York through February 29th. He will be doing a presentation on “The Artist as Environmental Advocate” at the gallery on February 29th at 4 pm.
Brian’s exhibits, workshops, instructional books and videos are available at www.briankeeler.com.
Learn more about Brian Keeler and his work on Youtube and Facebook.
