Cherry Blossoms Exhaltation Light at the End of the Tunnel Article and photos by janna waldinger Have you ever heard the wind blowing in the trees of a painting? Gazing at the light and textures that emerge in the paintings of Larry Greenwood, I am drawn into nature. Shadows come alive in the back-lit leaves of the trees in his diptych Poppy Field. Greenwood is known around the Napa Valley for his colorful and creative gardens. At the University of California at Berkeley, Greenwood studied architecture, sculpture, design, and landscape architecture, earning a BA degree in Landscape Architecture. In 1998 Greenwood worked intimately with Ira Wolk and George Goeggel, managing partner at the Auberge du Soleil, where Greenwood designed and built the open-air I. Wolk Sculpture Gallery. The garden features 110 figurative and abstract works displayed amid a flowing stream and the meandering paths through a one-hundred-year-old olive grove. Greenwood’s intention was to create a serene, harmonious space to blend art and nature for guests to endlessly enjoy. People may not know that he blends these various disciplines to create fine art paintings. His evenings are spent in the field of color and textures, bringing forth his inner gardens and oceanscapes onto specially prepared masonite boards of gesso and pumice which receive his heavily textured pastels. New life emerges as he brings nature indoors. Greenwood has spent his life in nature, with his hands in the soil as he nurtures the world of plants. He has developed an intimate relationship with the natural world. Listening to an inner sense of knowing the light as it travels through the day, Greenwood calculates the best growing patterns as he designs the lay of the land into a harmonious place to live and play. In blending this symphony of nature, using colors, textures, light, lines and form, Larry Greenwood brings the exquisite to both his landscape architecture and his fine art paintings. Greenwood was compelled to bring life onto paper and canvas. In 1991 he was drawn to an unopened box of pastel chalk that he had been carrying around for years. “I was inspired to finally feel those pieces of chalk in my hand and watch the colors emerge on the paper,” Greenwood said. “When I opened the box it was as though a door opened. Images began to flood into my imagination. My art is the expression of my true creative essence. I allow it to flow through me unfiltered. When my clients are drawn to my artwork, they connect to much more than just beauty,” Greenwood explains. “My intention in my garden designs is to create an environment that is meaningful to my client, that is a blend of both function and artistry.” For a landscaping consultation or to see Larry Greenwood’s fine art by appointment, please call 707-815-8486. For more landscaping tips go to www.NapaValleyLife.com. Poppy Field (diptych) M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 3 25
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