Blue Ridge
Acrylic and mixed media collage on board
24 1/8 x 48 inches
1984
McCallum & Halsey: At Home and Abroad, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC, 2022
Though abstracted, there is no mistaking these ridges and hues for anything other than the Blue Ridge Mountains. In this work, the viewer is positioned on a summit, looking over the quintessential colors of southern Appalachia. The deep teal and swipes of pink evoke mountain laurel and rhododendron. The navy and purple create the wash of blue that gives these mountains their name. McCallum applied salt to crack and fade the paint, creating the “silvery swirls of clouds” that envelop the soft peaks. The piece’s gestural application of multiple mediums contrasts with McCallum’s precise, line–based prints. By embracing flowing color and eschewing linearity, McCallum situates herself as a multi–talented artist not bound by one technique or style.
An original poem by McCallum on the painting’s reverse:
“Mt. Pisgah”
silvery swirls of clouds
curl lovingly round the peaks
now drifting like chiffon scarves
then melting into mists
clearing the blue mounds
lying heavy in the hollows
ever changing as the day moves.
Other works by this artist