Lot 34
**Originally Listed At $300**
John L. Mendoza (American, b. 1938). Homestead. Oil and watercolor on paper, 1979. Signed and dated at lower right. Molten earth and fire-swept skies converge in this dramatic 1979 composition by John L. Mendoza, where emotion floods the landscape as vividly as pigment. Rendered in oil and watercolor on paper, the work captures a humble homestead beneath an explosive canopy of abstracted cloud and light. Trees and fences splinter upward like silhouettes against a storm, while horizontal fields and reflections press gently toward calm. It is a place both imagined and remembered - as if drawn from memory and mythology in the same breath. Mendoza, known for his lyrical blend of structure and abstraction, allows washes of burnt sienna, ochre, and ivory to collide with decisive verticals, giving the composition both turbulence and tenderness. Size of painting: 14.5" W x 10.5" H (36.8 cm x 26.7 cm); of frame: 24.5" W x 21" H (62.2 cm x 53.3 cm)
In his words, his best paintings "magically communicate with him," and here the canvas seems indeed to speak - bold yet subtle, defined yet dreamlike.
Trained in the language of both landscape and inner life, Mendoza paints with the freedom of intuition and the discipline of form. The architectural elements - rooftops, fences, trees - serve as anchors amid a maelstrom of movement, grounding the viewer in a reality that feels at once specific and universal. This tension between concrete and abstract is a hallmark of Mendoza's mature style, especially visible in his work from the 1970s.
A resident of Pueblo, Colorado, Mendoza creates what he calls a "Mendoza world" - one alive with emotional resonance and chromatic force. This piece, with its glowing stormlight and quiet geometry, invites viewers into that world, where the land is less a subject than a state of feeling - a place shaped as much by memory as by topography.
About the artist: The work of John L. Mendoza is a diary of the man and his view of life. His oil paintings and watercolors bespeak romance, nostalgia, and natural beauty. Many of his paintings display dual characteristics. They are gentle yet passionate, simple yet detailed, bold yet subtle, and concrete yet abstract. When he paints his best work, the painting magically communicates with him, almost dictating what should be put on paper. His work includes Contemporary Landscapes, Oil Landscape Paintings, Watercolor Landscapes, Still Lifes, Abstracts, and Portraits. His ability to think freely, confidently and intuitively allows him to create a Mendoza world, bursting with avalanches of color, which build wildly romantic and emotional feelings, creating a universal and aesthetic appeal. Vertical and horizontal thrusts that dominate his work sweep downward from the basic motif in a wash that is essential to the painting as a whole. This is the signature that is unmistakably the work of John L. Mendoza. John resides in Pueblo, Colorado, with his wife, artist Dorothy Mendoza.
Provenance: private Erie, Colorado, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s
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#189649
- Condition: Mounted behind glass in custom matte and frame with suspension wire on verso for display. Minor staining to lower left area of matte. Has not been examined outside of glass, but painting and frame appear to be in excellent overall condition. Signed and dated at lower right.
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