Of all Frank Vincent DuMond's landscapes, "Trout Rock" of the 1930s
brings together the core principles he practiced and professed as a
painter and teacher for over half a century.
Besides radiating a
timeless beauty of nature, the painting promotes the idea that embodies
the principles of dignity, universal truth - that art gives meaning to
life. To DuMond, the scene evokes man’s connection to nature,
spirituality, and inner peace. It is masterfully composed and
brilliantly painted.

Hidden in the verdant embrace of Nova Scotia's rustic landscape. A
single figure emerges more as a shape than a specific individual.
At
first, we are not sure what he is doing. On closer inspection. We see
the faint indication of a fishing pole and the splash of his fishing
lure.
He's a fly fisherman. Although small in size, DuMond’s
compositional devices of diagonals and pyramid shapes lead the viewer's
eye to him.

The scene is composed of a series of interconnected shapes and forms.
DuMond was an advocate of “Massing” or reducing pictorial elements to a
simplified state and then adding detail if required.

“Trees have individuality and character as well as characteristic
patterns derived from species… They must be seen first as patterns in
groups in the landscape, then also as individuals within the mass.” As a
teacher he encouraged his students to “ squint” at a scene to break it
down to the basics.

"Trout Rock’s” color scheme also reflects DuMond’s signature color
theory. He invented a palette loosely called the “Gold to Violet
principle”, where the artist would lay down paint on glass, like a color
chart in prismatic progression of color, light to dark, and unsaturated
to saturated.

We see subtle indications of this in "Trout Rock’s meticulous paint
application that draws equally from Impressionism and Pointillism,
heightened by his seductive signature greens that have an inner light.
Move close to the paint surface, and whole sections are composed of tiny
dots and dashes that blend optically, creating vibrant depth and
luminosity.

Frank Vincent DuMond is a historic figure in American art and art
education who taught at the Art Students League for over 60 years.
Among his students were Norman Rockwell, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Marin, and my father, Milton Funk.