{"id":27649,"date":"2015-01-16T12:20:24","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T18:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=27649"},"modified":"2020-03-17T09:29:29","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T15:29:29","slug":"the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/","title":{"rendered":"The Modern Western Landscape: Mark Knudsen and Leslie Thomas at Phillips"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-27649 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/leslie6\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"290\" src=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leslie6-290x290.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leslie6-290x290.jpg 290w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leslie6-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leslie6-360x360.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/lesliethomas2-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"290\" src=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/LeslieThomas2-1-290x290.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" 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https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Leth__-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Leth__-360x360.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/leth022\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"290\" src=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leth022-290x290.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leth022-290x290.jpg 290w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leth022-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leth022-360x360.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/leth032\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"290\" src=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leth032-290x290.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leth032-290x290.jpg 290w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leth032-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/leth032-360x360.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/makn177\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"133\" src=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn177-290x133.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/makn178\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"290\" src=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn178-290x290.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn178-290x290.jpg 290w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn178-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn178-360x360.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/makn181\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"290\" src=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn181-290x290.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn181-290x290.jpg 290w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn181-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn181-360x360.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-modern-western-landscape-mark-knudsen-and-leslie-thomas-at-phillips\/makn185\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"290\" src=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn185-290x290.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn185-290x290.jpg 290w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn185-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/makn185-360x360.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>\u201cYou two just keep getting better,\u201d Denis Phillips observed Wednesday afternoon at a walkthrough of the terrific new show by Mark Knudsen and Leslie Thomas. And he\u2019s an artist who doesn\u2019t hand out compliments readily.<\/p>\n<p>The public seems to agree: five paintings have sold already including a 24\u201dx 84\u201d canvas by Knudsen, and two of Thomas\u2019s while they lay flat on the floor waiting to be hung for tonight&#8217;s opening. This couple\u2019s \u201cThe Modern Western Landscape,\u201d a beautifully realized show of southern Utah\u2019s redrock country and canyons, is well worth putting on your Gallery Stroll itinerary.<\/p>\n<p>Knudsen\u2019s work is fairly hard-edged in thin acrylic on panel, often including reminders of humankind; Thomas\u2019s is softer, more lyrical, in often thickly textured oil on linen. As a surprise, there are a number of pleasing winterscapes in this presentation, some inside Arches. \u201cThe light\u2019s good all day and you don\u2019t have to get up at 5:30 to get to that place you saw that you thought might be good at 6,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cRaking light is so much easier to paint.\u201d But there\u2019s also a captivating work, \u201cDark Shores II,\u201d she did of the Great Salt Lake in evening with Antelope and Fremont islands in the distance.<\/p>\n<p>Their back story is pretty well known. After 20 years as a computer engineer, Thomas returned to painting and studied primarily under now-husband Mark (evident for a time in her style, although she has decidedly come into her own).<\/p>\n<p>Knudsen studied fine art at the U under \u201csome of the best\u201d in \u201969 and \u201970 and spent his career in the Art department at <em>The Salt Lake Tribune<\/em>, where he also did a considerable amount of writing. He retired nine years ago to become a full-time artist.<\/p>\n<p>In response to Denis Phillips\u2019 remark, Knudsen said: \u201cWe don\u2019t really have lives, so we just paint all the time.\u201d And that\u2019s pretty much the truth. With studios in Sugar House and Moab, and touring between the two with their terriers, Betty and Trungpa, taking numerous photos later to be turned into paintings, the couple only seems to pause occasionally for good wine and food, good friends, and good books.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s core to this artwork is that the subject matter isn\u2019t just painted but deeply appreciated. \u201cLeslie started to cry,\u201d Knudsen recalls, when they saw their first reintroduced California condor at the Grand Canyon, a moment he memorializes in \u201cCondor at the South Rim.\u201d In \u201cBeyond Papa Joe\u2019s\u201d he says he tries to show the desert\u2019s \u201cmysterious quality and slightly dangerous feel.\u201d About \u201cCoyote Mesa #2\u201d he explains he was trying to convey the idea of a landscape that says, \u201cYou\u2019re not welcome here. This is a wild place.\u201d Thomas talks about the rock in \u201cMorrison Wingate\u201d as \u201ckind of poisonous; kind of gorgeous\u201d and told her husband, when she saw the marshmallow-appearing multicolored Morrison Formation in her exquisite \u201cOn the Mine Road\u201d: \u201cThis is the place I was born to paint.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In this couple\u2019s work, the land, the light, even the geology, is thoroughly understood and enticingly interpreted.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Modern Western Landscape: Mark Knudsen and Leslie Thomas opens tonight at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.phillips-gallery.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Phillips Gallery<\/a>, 6-9 pm, and continues through February 13.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cYou two just keep getting better,\u201d Denis Phillips observed Wednesday afternoon at a walkthrough of the terrific new show by Mark Knudsen and Leslie Thomas. And he\u2019s an artist who doesn\u2019t hand out compliments readily. The public seems to agree: five paintings have sold already including a 24\u201dx [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":844,"featured_media":27650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,14],"tags":[733,538,157],"class_list":["post-27649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hints_n_tips","category-visual_arts","tag-leslie-thomas","tag-mark-knudsen","tag-phillips-gallery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/LeslieThomas2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 09:37:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/844"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27649"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51634,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27649\/revisions\/51634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}