Themes

Abstraction in nature

The influence of Richard Diebenkorn (who was one of Walt Buhler’s teachers at the California College of Arts and Crafts) is apparent in many of Walt Buhler’s works. This combination of the abstract and the figurative can be seen in the geometric compositions of Walt Buhler’s landscapes with the integration of flat, planar fields of color as well as strong linear elements.

In earlier works, these geometric elements serve (as a background or as a foreground) as a framework for the composition. In some later works, the planar fields add a rhythm to the surface of the image.

Light and shadow in the garden

In all of his homes, Walt Buhler designed and tended a beautiful garden. He was constantly planting, watering, trimming in his free time and always creating a work of living art. All gardens depend on light and are – for the most part – bathed in light and it is this interplay between sun, shadow and plant forms that Walt Buhler integrated in to many of his paintings.

Familiar objects

A number of comforting objects, signifying childhood (a wagon), or the joy of living in a beautiful neighborhood (picket fences) or having a place to rest outdoors (garden furniture), as well as bicycles, books, coffee cups and watering cans can be found in Walt Buhler’s paintings.

Looking through houses

Walt Buhler loved to get up early and take a walk in the neighborhood with his camera. In several paintings he treats the viewer to what he saw – a private view through architecture and living spaces bathed in morning or evening light. The open view through houses (often one can see out a window or a door on the other side of the room) helps to dissolve the boundaries between “indoor” and “outdoor”.

The frame within the frame

The outer edges of the paintings were just as important as the centers for Walt Buhler. Often, important parts of the composition are located here. An interesting detail that appears in many works is a edge “framing” which incorporates the colors used in the painting.

The color wash

The artist often started with a color wash, where the basic tone of the painting would be distributed across the entire canvas – sometimes with changes in hue and intensity – to create a unifying backdrop for the image. In the artist’s own words, he “prepared the wet canvases in the driveway while spraying them with the garden hose to get the desired effect”. Sounds like fun!