Working in the landscape tradition, John Lees bases his drawings on his observation of nature and on the sensations nature inspires. Stream is the culmination of five years' work, during which Lees drew and reworked large, rough sketches of a stream in his backyard in upstate New York, as seen from five different locations. The intense materiality of the drawing is the result of the artist's technique of building up the work's surface and using natural materials gathered from the site he was depicting, including the juice of wild berries. The dates of the drawing are recorded along its left side.
Gallery label from Against the Grain: Contemporary Art from the Edward R. Broida Collection, May 3–July 10, 2006.
