Tonalist paintings often suggest the abstract. My landscape painting has been deeply influenced by the Abstract Expressionist collection at the Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York and in more recent years by my study of American Tonalist painters and the time in which they lived (1880-1915)
"True vision is the power to see the soul of a thing and to grasp its essential beauty. For any landscape has a soul as well as a body... Its soul is the spirit of light - of sunlight, of moonlight, of starlight"
- L. Birge Harrison, American landscape painter, teacher and writer (1854-1929)
As a long-time painter and illustrator, Eisenhardt has presented solo exhibits and taken part in group exhibits in Ohio, New York City, New York state, Vermont and California, receiving many awards.
In recent years I have studied American Tonalist painters and the time in which they lived (1880-1915).This has influenced my painting so much. In my work I try to express the tranquility of nature, the drama and mystery of diminished or diffused light of sunrises, sunsets, moonlight and mist. And my goal always is to reach for the soul of a subject, its spirit. There is often a sense of the spiritual.
Working in oil on stretched linen or panels, and referring not only to my observation of the natural world, I also draw from my memory and imagination as well. Working outdoors (en plein air) to gather information and bring it back to the studio is so important to a landscape painter, so I do this as well. In the studio I continue working on some outdoor sketches to create finished paintings or use others as references for larger pieces which I start and finish in the studio.
So many painters from the Tonalist period, G. Inness, Wyant, Ranger, Ben Foster, and one from whom I’ve learned so much, Birge Harrison, were and remain my inspiration. In the end each painting is an adventure blending what I now observe and what I know of the past with what I feel, remember and imagine each day. I love to paint!
As a long-time painter and illustrator, Eisenhardt has presented solo exhibits and taken part in group exhibits in Ohio, New York City, New York state, Vermont and California, receiving many awards. She is an elected member of the New York City Society of Illustrators, a juried member of both the National Association of Women Artists and Oil Painters of America, and an artist member of Ohio Plein Air Society.
