Impressionistic may be the term that first describes the landscape paintings of Larry Kappen, but a closer observation reveals that he goes beyond just recording the landscapes of the California Central Coast. Although his paintings are done from direct observation of nature in the plein air style, they develop their detail and focus through Kappen’s interactions with the paintings themselves, so that the landscape and the discoveries made through painting it merge to create the art. The painting takes over from the observed reality, leading it in different directions, so that colors change and shapes alter. The result is his unique reaction to what he sees in nature, and his own individual expression of what he sees.
