Rackstraw Downes was born in England in 1939. Known for his realistic oil paintings made of a variety of different landscapes and scenes, Rackstraw was invited to introduce himself and his art to the Art21 website, which is where I found him. Rackstraw Downes always makes his art with the old school easel in the spot he likes best. He never takes pictures to use as a later reference. Nothing can stand in this mans way, not even the limitation of his easel. If he feels the piece needs to be larger, he will staple strips to the sides of his canvas to make it bigger. One of the reasons he seems to enjoy painting landscapes so much is because he loves to capture the change in the world and how the animals have been challenged to adapt to the change humans have made. Because of the oil paint and his skill, Rackstraw is able to make landscape pieces that look so realistic, it can barely be distinguished from a photograph.
What is seen above isn’t a photograph. It is one of the many pieces Rackstraw has made with his magical oil paint. Rackstraw has a unique way of seeing the terrain around him. With his body still, he sometimes shifts his eyes left and right. This gives off an almost warped look to his art. It adds almost a form of liveliness to his piece that makes you feel almost as if you are there at the spot, and able to see the terrain with your own eyes. It doesn’t look flat and plain.
I’ve never held much of an interest for creating realistic art. However, I often time do find myself dumbfounded by some of the realistic pieces I find. It is just incredible how people are capable of taking the information created by sight, processing it in their minds, and replicating it almost perfectly on a canvas using only that of simple paint and brush. Yet, Rackstraw has taken this already incredible concept, and has taken it to a new level. He is able to almost warp the terrain to make it seem like the viewer is in that exact spot Rackstraw was in, and is able to look around for themselves. It is almost an illusion that tricks the viewers brain into thinking they are seeing something from another persons eyes. I find that concept absolutely mind boggling.
