Nature, keenly seen and unseen, is the subject in this American painter’s work. Bray works in casein on panel, a method perfected by 14th Century painters, which requires thousands of delicate brush strokes to achieve an exceptional clarity of light. 

As Portland Museum of Art curator, Jessica Nicoll wrote, “Bray’s paintings are distillations rather than an actual representation of the natural world… Bray selects and combines elements to construct his slightly surreal landscapes. They are landscapes of memory. Veering away from the landscape tradition of the last one hundred and fifty years, with its emphasis on immediacy and epic sweep, Bray creates intimate vistas in his studio that are recollections of his experience in the world.”

Throughout his 40 year career, Bray has recorded the way time shapes landscapes and, distinct from plein air, paints unique meditations by braiding memory and rumination with the impression of the senses.

Ghost Farms

by Alan Bray

Casein on Panel, 2020