EARL LEHMAN
There is a visceral lushness in Earl Lehman’s work. His landscapes alternate in mood as seemingly spontaneous abstract shapes and colors combine with earnest representation. His strokes portray palpable energy, as if the scene itself is living, breathing. Leaving his studio and observing his rural surroundings, it’s clear that the artist is inspired by the myriad details of light, color and layers of land close to his home. Each canvas takes us on a journey to a place of wonder that might actually be just around the corner. Lehman’s work leads us to discovery, awareness and reverence.
Unable to go to art school after high school, Earl joined the military in 1964, serving in the Philippines and Vietnam and NSA headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland. Later he went to art school on the GI Bill, drawing and painting and graduating magna cum laude in 1979. He is a winner of the prestigious F. Lammot Belin Art Scholarship and was awarded a place on the PA Council of the Arts and the Arts in Education Roster. Earl taught and still teaches in this program and has been an artist in residence in schools and communities statewide. With a long teaching and exhibition history, Earl has won many awards. He believes that an artist is only as good as his last few paintings.
The artist lives in a remote part of Pennsylvania, in Laceyville, with his dog Luna. He built his house in the Susquehanna County woods, looking down on Tuscarora Creek, which flows into the Susquehanna River. He says: “his paintings have voices of their own, and hopes that you enjoy their songs.”