Nocturne by Larry Welo

This is an etching and aquatint by Wisconsin printmaker Larry Welo. It's titled Nocturne. According to Webster, "A nocturne is a work of art—most commonly a dreamy, pensive, and romantic piece of music—that is inspired by or evokes the night.:" That is an apt description of this work. The viewer is looking though large trees at a house. Everything is dark except for the upper story of the house where light is showing through the windows. It probably is shortly after sunset as the sky above the horizon is still light. This adds a beautiful glow to the image and is reminiscent of the Luminism movement from a century earlier. The pieces shows the command of the artist with intaglio technique as the complexity of the light and shadow is masterful. A beautiful work from early in the artist's career. Welo studied art and printmaking at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He's been actively making art for nearly 50 years with an emphasis on intaglio prints. He is very thoughtful about how the artist approaches seeing the world. "Evolving from looking at places came seeing. Seeing meant that from daily observation and translation through drawing, I developed the skill of looking at the world in terms of two-dimensional design. Ideas are of great importance, and, as an artist, being able to communicate those ideas is of the greatest importance. ... Seeing, and communicating what is seen, is something that has been learned." This etching is framed. The plate size is 9 7/8 x 12 3/4 inches. It is signed and dated in pencil lower right Larry Welo 1978. Comments on the edition are lower left, First State 50 proofs. The etching has not been examined out of the frame. The framing materials appear to be archival. The frame size is 19 x 23 inches. The piece appears to be in excellent condition. There is no visible staining, foxing, toning, tears, or paper loss. It's ready to hang.