Alden “Trevor” McWilliams (b. 1982) first encountered his passion for Art and Nature within the Hudson Valley, his original home. Following thirteen transformative years living and working in Portland, Oregon, Trevor decided it was time to return to his roots and recently relocated back home to Dutchess County. His practice involves a combination of sketching, drawing and oil painting from life and in-studio with a current focus on the Storm King Mountain and the Hudson Highlands. After traversing his subjects and producing preparatory field studies, Trevor then develops larger concepts on canvas and paper in his Beacon, NY studio while working on commercial and private commissions.

Statement

The dramatic power emanating from light and shadow cast across sweeps of land and water amplifies vibrations within my mind, heart, and hand long after a moment’s release. My work is about harnessing the indescribable essence of place, transformative moments within a new or familiar space, and the poignant charge felt in the wake of Nature’s awe. My drawings and paintings invite the viewer into the mysterious mosaic to examine the muscle, rhythm, and flow both seen and felt within landscapes and skies far grander than my own imagination.

I physically, visually, and emotionally immerse myself in a place before I attempt to capture its essence on paper or canvas. I explore on foot, looking for a sightline to inform my hand as I render pockets of the natural world that stir my very core at first sight and long after I depart. I record these raw impressions in order to create a dialogue with the place itself that can continue after we part. I watch wild swaths of the land breathe long and deep as the sun’s light slowly shifts from first to last. I wait for a moment, or a moment finds me, and when we commune I feel a shift deep within myself; this is where my work begins.